84 Charing Cross Road

Whenever anyone asks me, which isn't often, I tell them this is it. And they invariably have never heard of it, which is a terrible shame.

I love the film, and advise those who love it as well that they SHOULD read the book too... and also read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and find out what happened when Helene went to England after all those years.

And don't stop there... look up the Oxford Book of English Prose and the Oxford Book of English Verse (http://www.bartleby.com/101/), edited by the venerable Q (Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch), and see what inspired Helene to begin the correspondence in the first place (basically she decided to read everything Q mentioned, "unless it's fiction.")

This movie is an example of how the cinematic medium can powerfully explore a mundane activity as letter writing. The movement of the characters through their activities and concerns over different times of life and across 2 physically separated cultures is smooth, subtle and engaging. The movie does not contain the bombast that many others seem to be more pre-occupied with. Rather the viewer is taken into the quiet enjoyment of human conversation and communication. And just like a good conversation, one is left with both satisfaction and longing.

The British are known for movies that can tear your heart out without excessive emoting. "84 Charing Cross Road" is one such picture. It's been on many, many times and I know my mother loved this movie but I never saw it, who knows why. But having "discovered" Dame Judi Dench, who has a somewhat minor part, I wanted to see her in this movie. Well, I was mesmerized! There was no "snap and pop" here; just the quiet story of a book lover and a bookseller who live on 2 different continents and who are total opposites (or so it seems) but who form a friendship through letters --- what today's youngsters would call snail mail. She's a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker with a New York accent as thick as a deli sandwich. He's a dyed-in-the-wool Englishman whose accent isn't as thick but who is British through and through. Yet they both share a passion for books. This gentle true story, based on Helene Hanff's book, is told mainly through their correspondence and what a terrific correspondence it was.

Letter-writing, unfortunately, is a lost art. As convenient as Email is, it's not quite the same as a good, old-fashioned letter. This movie reminded me of that and of the 17-year correspondence I shared with my best friend (he has since died). I'm told I have a talent for letter-writing and I have 2 friends with whom I share this talent. I used to think those friends should get a computer but now I see I was wrong. Email is expedient but letter-writing is so much more long-lasting.

One of the reasons I stayed with the picture was one scene: Helene goes to the movies (remember, this was 1950) and what are they playing? My all-time favorite movie, "Brief Encounter." I couldn't turn away after that and I'm glad I stayed with it. This is one movie I definitely will add to my DVD and/or VHS collection. It's a keeper for sure.

Helene and Frank never actually say they love each other - hell, they never even meet - but they love each other in an unspoken way that people today would not understand. The movie never plays it for sappy romance; its way better than stooping to that level of convention. They are good to one another and enrich one another's life - isn't that love?

Hopkins has an amazing moment when Helene has to cancel her trip to London due to some much-needed dental work. His face shows so many things, all at once, that it really is beautiful and breaks my heart, no matter how often I see it.

For Oscar fans - this movie has four winners - Bancroft, Hopkins, Mercedes Ruehl and Judi Dench.

I am grateful that this movie got made with such care and humanity.

For many years, Charing Cross Road in London was a nucleus for book enthusiasts, particularly for book collectors and bibliophiles. Rare and second-hand bookselling is not one of the more glamorous areas of collectibles trading, as many aspects involve lower-end as well as higher-end selling. Unlike auctions of master paintings and collectible jewelry which often receive much press coverage, antiquarian bookselling often occurs in quiet library-like shops. Customers and proprietors alike speak in low tones amid dimly-lit corridors. "84 Charing Cross Road" brings viewers into the world of antiquarian bookselling and purchasing as no other film does.

Anne Bancroft (who played Mrs Robinson in "the Graduate") is a writer habituating the exciting world of the New York scene. To quench her ever-present thirst for reading, she decides she wants to acquire books of an "antiquarian" nature, fine editions which have a bit more elegance than cheap mass-market editions. She also wants to read books of classic English literature rather than simply the latest NY Times Bestseller. She visits her local second-hand bookshops in New York, and none of the proprietors carry the books she seeks because, she is told, they do not have enough demand among NY book buyers. She then hears about a rare and second-hand book firm in London on Charing Cross Road and writes them, hoping they might have the kinds of books she seeks. One of the main purveyors, although not one of the owners of the firm, is Frank Doel, played with an understated civility by the incredible Anthony Hopkins.

Thus begins a correspondence between a humble book firm in London and an informal "client" in New York. As the correspondence progresses, she begins to learn more about and understand better the people whose livelihoods center around books. The scenes are mainly split between the contemplative world of the London bookshop and the loud and raucous city that is New York. Even the interactions between characters on each side are quite different. Helene the American is often smoking and boozing with friends while those at the shop quietly but seriously go about their business.

Helene the American and Frank the Brit correspond in English, but almost immediately we sense the wide difference in their respective letter-writing styles, their palette of colors quite diverse. The American is direct, blunt, and easily conveys her frustration if a book arrives which does not please her. On the other hand, the Englishman Doel writes in an overtly congenial tone, very low-key and almost formal, and courteous to the point of near-humility. He is never upset or put-off at the occasional brashness of his counterpart's letters but always attempts to make things right if his client is not entirely pleased with her purchase.

Then, in an interesting turn, Helene learns of the food rationing that is occurring in Britain largely as a result of the war. She resolves to help the struggling employees of the book through a black market coming out of Denmark. The employees become elated when a special package arrives for them. As a result, Helene and Frank become close in ways almost like a reader and a book, their images and understandings of each other only through words on paper, never through voices or body language. However, although they learn much about each other's lives throughout the correspondence, they never meet, but only can imagine each other's worlds.

"84 Charing Cross Road" is almost like a play with the correspondence, often spoken in voice-over, as the driving catalyst of the story. The piece is more a character study of the participants rather than having a real plot. But it is one of the few films I know of which celebrates the world of antiquarian booksellers and their prospective book buyers. Unfortunately, since the rise of the internet and the struggling economies in both America and Europe, the presence of second-hand and antiquarian bookshops have been markedly reduced in many urban areas. Charing Cross Road which used to boast many booksellers now has only a handful, which is strangely predicted by the film at the end.