David
played a rather stuffy upper crust boy almost in love with a poor little rich
girl who became a bon vivant artist and married badly.
Andy’s
father thought Melissa was a bad influence and would Andy lead astray from the
Summa Cum laude lawyer/politician he was to become, as befits someone from
moneyed Connecticut named Andrew Makepeace Ladd the Third.
Melissa
did make a mess of her life, but there were reasons why, which are clearly
shown. She was rich, but unhappy and felt unloved by her family. She probably
should have married Andy, who found success as a lawyer and a politician, more
than any of the men Melissa did marry. He was practical and always had a plan.
She counted on him to keep her grounded. They truly were good friends, despite
all the disconnects in their lives and an inability to get together and stay
together except through letter writing.
Nancy and
David worked very well together, something they have always wanted to do since
they became friends many years ago, even though Nancy maintains that her
favorite actor to do Love Letters with is (of course) her husband Val. I was
very happy with the pair I
saw.
David’s
best scenes were one letter written in boarding school when he quotes from
Paradise Lost and a very long speech about the joy Andy feels about writing
letters.
Nancy
imbues Melissa with a bit of desperate pathos, because she is so unhappy with
her life most of time. I’m not sure Andy was any happier, but he at least was
able to derive some satisfaction from his life by doing the right thing and
becoming what his father always wanted him to be.
More
Love Letters photos and reviews
Diane's indepth report on
her visit to Monmouth
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