A Letter to True

It's all deliberately homemade and raggedy, and that's where its charm comes from, along with the delightful old-music score.

An undeniably odd film, this ode to pooches is more than just a dog calendar come to life.

Gives these canines the sensual elegance of the Calvin Klein models Weber has so famously photographed. Would that the substance of the film have come close to having the impact of its visuals.

No matter how deep one's affection for man's best friend, there's something undeniably fatuous about considering the emotional impact 9/11 has had on a dog named Rain.

It all makes for a poignant mix, the boy inside the man, pressing his nose against the glass, longing for the journalistic authenticity of someone like Burrows while still believing in Lassie and the unconditional love of True.

The definition of a vanity film, Weber's latest opus lacks the focus even to qualify as dilettantish. Offering plenty for the eye and little for the brain, the film suffers from a dearth of ideas as it glides pleasantly but emptily from one gorgeous surface to another.

A Letter to True could provide a corrective reminder that bad taste emerges in high-class forms as often as low. The film's failures cannot be faulted to inexperience.