P.S. I LOVE YOU

"Are you still here?"

Holly (Swank) had found the love of her life in Gerry (Butler) but when he died, she cannot see how she is going to continue on with her life. Consumed by her grief, Holly receives a letter from Gerry saying that he has a plan for her to cope with his death and move on with her life. With nine more letters to come, Holly sets out on an adventure of remembrance and growth with her friends, family and most of all Gerry, through his letters.

How we cope with the loss of a loved one has been the fascination of movies and in fact literature forever but can 'P.S. I Love You' bring more to the plotline than just raw emotional sentiment?

Based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern, 'P.S. I Love You' deals with coping with the loss of the person closest to you, in this case, a husband. As with any movie relying on grief as its central theme, emotional drama is at its core but what makes this movie stand out is the injection of humour and love at its core that gives the movie that warm glow that stories like this need to have. While is does go for the tear jerking moments and the sentimentality, the film has an outlook of hope and the thought that it is better to have known and loved a person than to have never known them at all.

The story of a widow in mourning and how her husband leaves letters to help her get over her loss is one that you cannot help but be moved by. While the storyline is a lot more female oriented than male, making this one of those movies for a group of girlfriends to enjoy more than a poor husband/boyfriend/partner who loves his action flicks to be dragged along to, the themes of the piece will have appeal to each of the sexes. The fairer sex will enjoy the romance, the enduring love and the passion of the piece while the men will enjoy the injection of comedy and take notes on how to romance the woman in their lives.

To bring a story like this to life and successfully concoct a blend of romance, comedy, grief and sadness you need a multitalented cast and 'P.S. I Love You' has a great one. The supporting cast is very good, even though they don't have as much screen time as you would have hoped. Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon as Holly's best friends Denise and Sharon provide most of the comedy, especially Kudrow's way of selecting a man. Kathy Bates is as good as ever as Holly's mother Patricia but she really needs to fine those challenging roles again to show her Oscar winning abilities. Jeffery Dean Morgan seems to be craving out a career as ruff and ready hunk that the girls go week at the knees over but James Marsters is seriously underused. Even though Gerard Butler's character has died, the actor still has a huge presence in the movie, narrating the letters, taking us back to the beginning of their relationship in flashback and appearing when Holly envisages Gerry is still in her life. Leading the movie however is the performance of Hilary Swank as Holly. The Oscar winning actress proves again that she is a performer that can be as diverse as she is talented, adhering herself as much in comedy as she does in drama.

'P.S. I Love You' is an incredibly sweet movie that will appeal to every romantic would there. While the film is clearly aimed more towards a female audience, there is much to enjoy here if you are in a couple or have a passion for tragic love stories and coping with the death of the person closet to you. With excellent performances from the cast offsetting the slightly cliched storyline that doesn't really bring us anything new, this is a movie for all the true romantics out there.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

A Conversation with author Cecelia Ahern (7.31 mins)
Director Richard LaGravenese and stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler join 'P.S. I Love You' author Cecelia Ahern to talk about adapting the best selling book for the big screen. The young novelist talks about how she wrote the book, her influences and how the story was 'Americanised' the screen adaptation.

Music Video 'Same Mistake' by James Blunt (3.50 mins)
Watch the music video that includes clips from the movie.

The Name of the Game is Snaps (4.48 mins)
A mock, 1950s style game show that tries to tell you how to play the game of 'Snaps' which Holly and her friends play in the film.

Additional Scenes (12.34 mins)
Entitled 'Savage girl play', 'What is it about', 'At the resturant', 'Travel agent' and 'Gerry's guitar', these additional scenes suffer from the lack a commentary track or introduction to explain why they were removed.

Trailers
Previews of 'The Accidental Tourist', 'Penelope' and 'Happy-Go-Lucky'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'P.S. I Love You' is one that fans should enjoy. While the lack of a commentary track is a disappointment, the interview with the author is good and the 'Snaps' featurette is fun. While it might not be as full with extras as fans might have wished for but this is one that they should find something to enjoy.

DVD

Always

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2008