Love Letter, The

The power of words and images to open hearts. Helen runs, miles a day, to burn off energy: she's an emotional celibate. Going through the post at her shop, she finds a romantic and poetic letter between the couch cushions, unsigned, and thinks it's for her. It melts her resistance to feelings, and soon she undertakes an affair with Johnny, a collegiate employee. (He sees the letter and thinks she wrote it to him; he quotes some of it, so she thinks he wrote it to her.) In the background are Helen's long-time friend, George, who loves her, and her mother who abruptly left on a long trip months' before. Discovering who actually wrote the letter brings insight and promise.

  • Starring: Kate Capshaw, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Everett Scott and Tom Selleck
  • Director(s): Peter Chan
  • Producer(s): Dreamworks SKG
  • Screenwriter(s): Maria Maggenti
  • Distributor: Universal Pictures
  • Release Date: Friday, May 21, 1999

Featured Animal Action

There is a scene at the park where a dog is eating off of a plate at a town picnic and another scene where the dog is lying in a driveway when a car approaches and stops in front of him, the dog never moving. Other animal action consists of some seagulls on the front of a non-moving boat in the rain, the sound of buzzing bees, and a deer standing in a living room.