The Bookshop - 2017 - 6/10
Any movie with bookshop in the title could go two ways. Feelgood or 451°.
A widower buys a long empty house in small village in order to establish a bookstore.
Circa 1959, a time when society still read, either for enjoyment or self improvement.
Problem is, she is ignorant of the village dynamics, that someone else had coveted the house for years, though never acted on their ambitions.
For readers, the interior of the bookshop, often any bookshop, is a magical world of possibilities.
The shop interior, as well as one character's delight in new books, new authors, are high points in this film.
The narrative is lethargic, however, and a sense of inevitably pervades.
True to life, smiling village folk mask indifference and resentment toward outsiders.
Also, the two prime "villains" are little more than cartoon facades.
Limited enjoyment. Those expecting You've Got Mail (a film I loathed), might do well to bypass.
