Review of You've Got Mail (1998) by Vastavikta G — 23 Oct 2015

You've Got Mail.

1998.

I found this movie randomly on my friend's laptop. He said that it is a romantic movie. And boy, what a romantic movie it was! Beautiful.

The main characters are Kathleen Kelly played by Meg Ryan and Joe Fox played by Tom Hanks. The movie takes us back to the time when the internet was a new thing. New and generating sparks of curiosity. Kathleen and Joe were among the people who liked the whole new idea of online chat rooms and mailing. They met each other online but decided not to share any personal details; only chatting. But in real life, both of them were business rivals. Kathleen was running a small shop of books since years, meaning, her mother used to run the shop before her. While, Joe had just started a new big and trendy book shop right across the street which ultimately led Kathleen out of business. During this whole time, online they got attached to each other even more. The tension in the movie builds up when Joe finds out the truth about his online love. He is devastated. He has no idea what to do. He loves her but knows that he is responsible for throwing her out of business and she will never accept him. The movie captures all our interest now. And the attention is worth it. The way he reveals the truth to Kathleen is the best part of the movie. Totally unpredictable, the end of the movie will bring you to tears.

Before starting, I must tell you that I watched this movie in the year 2015. So, usually when I watch movie from '90's I find the dressing of characters really bad. Fortunately, the characters here are so interesting and well defined, also the acting is carried out so well that you don't mind the dresses. Meg Ryan looks beautiful in the movie. I am not sure if I find Tom Hanks handsome. But, I love him in the movie. Brilliant acting. The movie starts out slow and for teenagers like me, will need a bit of patience. Trust me, it's worth it (esp. if you are a romantic). The point where the two characters are at war with each other in the real life, I was worried. Because, they had decided online that they will not reveal their personal details. Hats off to the script writer here, wonderful job. The mails that they send to each other are equally as interesting as the characters themselves and even in the toughest times manage not to reveal the truth about each other. So, the movie never bores you. One drawback I found was the presence of too many side characters. Like, Kathleen's current boyfriend, her two employees and her aunt. Joe's father, grandfather, girlfriend, father's wife, father's wife's daughter, grandfather's son, etc. The main thing is that all of them have at least one dialogue and not a light one. This distracts our attention from the main story. Though I think you might not mind it much. The scene director has also done a pretty good job. One of my favorite scene is the one where Kathleen sits with a wizard hat on and reads out a story for the children in the store. The movie gets a hold of you when they decide online that they will meet in person. Only the audience knows, that a disaster is following. But before both find out the truth, Joe finds out first. The thing is that Joe took the whole business thing as professional and not personal. On the other hand, it was not the same for Kelly. She was attached to her store. Joe was the reason why she has to close the store, so Joe knew that Kathleen will never accept their online love in real life. My favorite part is how Joe brings out the truth to Kathleen. Mainly because, it shows how much he loves her. It is heart touching. The ending brought me to tears and I am sure it will not disappoint you either.