Although a bit too long for its own good, Correspondence is a well acted and finely photographed romance-drama that is well worth a rental so long as you keep expectations in check, particularly for Giuseppe Tornatore fans.
Correspondence
(2016)
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Fox | NR – 121 min. – $22.98 | June 27, 2017
Date Published: 06/29/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.5/5
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| Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore has garnered a minor following that began with 1988’s Cinema Paradiso which was a masterpiece achievement and while his latest, Correspondence (a.k.a. La corrispondenza)is hardly amazing, there is something intimately striking, excelling with two great performances and some amazing cinematography topped off with an understated but beautiful score from Ennio Morricone.
The story focuses on a couple carrying on a long-term affair: Professor Ed Phoerum (JEREMY IRONS) and his star pupil, Amy Ryan (OLGA KURYLENKO). The movie opens following an personal encounter in a hotel room before Phoerum jettisons back home. After that, we only see the pair communicate via text and video. Over the course of the next few months, it’s apparent that something is amiss after Amy is unable to get a hold of him and her world is shattered when she attends a lecture that Phoerum was to host only to find out he had passed away, despite still constantly receiving texts and gifts from him, all pre-planned. The course of the movie finds Amy trying to grasp the death of the man she loved, and someone who loved her back, and facing the deeply traumatic issues from her past. Correspondence relies almost entirely on the charisma and screen presence of Olga Kurylenko who, from what I can remember, in every single scene and has to act opposite a video recording of Jeremy Irons; further, outside of the first 3.5 minutes, these two leads aren’t in the same room together. But that’s where this film succeeds as Kurylenko’s performance is more in her look than words and even when the film does meander, and 15-minutes could’ve been trimmed, I still found myself infatuated with their respective characters even though they are in the midst of an affair. Fans of Giuseppe Tornatore might not be very enamored with this film and it’s not as good as Cinema Paradiso, but if you go in knowing it is vastly different, it’s actually well made and gorgeously shot showcasing the Italian locations including Lazio, Italy which, from my reading, is where the villa scenes were shot. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5 |
| The only feature included is the Theatrical Trailer. Also inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. |
VIDEO – 4.25/5, AUDIO – 3.5/5
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| Correspondence is presented with a 16×9 enhanced 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and while this would’ve been nice to have in high-def, the picture quality still isn’t half bad showing off the Italian and UK landscape quite well.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is adequate enough considering the film is mostly dialogue driven with some added minor depth for Ennio Morricone score. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
| Overall, although a bit too long for its own good, Correspondence is a well acted and finely photographed romance-drama that is well worth a rental so long as you keep expectations in check, particularly for Giuseppe Tornatore fans. This DVD release offers good video/audio transfers but is limited with the features. |
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