It seems strange now, to remember a time when Anthony Hopkins was still considered a leading actor, with impeccable taste in film projects, whose very name guaranteed a quality film experience. From nasty Hannibal to stupid Bad Company, Hopkins has appeared in some real howlers recently. So, what a real pleasure it is to return to the time when Hopkins still had a bit of cred. 1986’s 84 Charring Cross Road is based on a play, which soon becomes apparent as basically the film is a two hander. The story is mainly told through letters between Anne Bancroft as Helena Hanff, a New York writer and reader, who has a twenty year correspondence with London book shop manager Anthony Hopkins.

With the letters between the two being the major way the story is told (a tradition mostly dead now due to email), you have these two very different people having a great relationship based on the pleasures of the mind, rather than carnal pursuits.

Bancroft has always excelled in these brassy New Yorker roles, and in the film she also becomes a beacon of hope for the Londoners, caught in the grip of the war and being bombed continually. Hopkins, while playing another of those stuffy roles (which his career was defined by in the 80’s), adds a lot more energy than usual to the role that could easily have been overshadowed by Bancroft’s sassiness.

Full of surprising story turns (if the two will ever meet is a major thrust of the story), this little gem was overlooked a little when Shadowlands came out and became the tear jerker to see. 84 Charring Cross Road is a quiet, yet really charming film. Will shut oldies up too.