Movie Review: Elsa and Fred (+trailer)

Shirley MacLaine makes a good job of portraying the extroverted Elsa.

A story featuring two of Hollywood's veteran stars - Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer - is aimed to appeal to the older generation, with the message that it is never too late to find love.

Fred Barcroft (Plummer) lost his wife eight months previously and most days struggles to find the energy to get off his bed.

He is more than content to watch as life passes him by.

When his over-protective daughter (Marcia Gay Harden) moves him into a new apartment, Fred finds himself with a overly friendly neighbour, Elsa (MacLaine).

Elsa is everything that Fred is not. She full of life and extroverted.

Attracted to Fred, she is determined to reintroduce him to life.

But that is going to prove to be quite a challenge. Eventually, Fred is mesmerised by Elsa's stories and sense of fun.

She seems to have been everywhere and met some amazing people in her life.

As Fred begins to fall in love with his new friend, he discovers that she has as many secrets as she has stories. Had Pablo Picasso really painted a portrait of her many years ago? What really happened to her former husband?

The one constant in Elsa's life is her passion for the classic Italian movie La Dolce Vita.

Since first seeing the film many years earlier, Elsa has dreamed of the scene at the Fontana di Trevi.

Elsa wanted to be the celluloid beauty in the Trevi fountain, waiting for the man of her dreams.

After discovering a confronting truth about Elsa, Fred decides to help her fulfil her dream and the pair travel to Italy.

Elsa and Fred show what many older people have discovered -- that it's never too late to love and to make dreams come true.

And MacLaine and Plummer bring some on-screen chemistry to a simple but enchanting love story.

Elsa & Fred
(M), 106 minutes
Rating: 3/5 stars