Best Holiday Movies: Love Actually
Richard Curtis’ Romantic Comedy Is Feel-Good Christmas Viewing
Dec 18, 2008
The cast list of Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy Love Actually reads like a ‘who’s who’ of British acting talent: Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman to name just a few.
The director and writer responsible for the comedy gem Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994) and Notting Hill (1999) returned in 2003 with this holiday offering. Set predominantly in London during the five weeks leading up to Christmas, Love Actually is about the complicated process of falling in, as well as out, of love.
Like his previous blockbusters, Curtis’ script focuses on the often rocky road that leads to Mr or Ms Right. The difference with this film is that there are many more couples involved and the spectrum of relationships is much broader.
In fact, there are so many characters and plotlines that the movie is more a series of loosely interconnected stories than a single narrative. Holding all the stories together is Billy Mack, an obnoxious, over-the-hill rock star, superbly played by Bill Nighy, who rediscovers fame with his sugary Christmas remake of Love Is All Around You.
Interconnected Love Stories
One of the film's central characters is David (Hugh Grant), the newly elected prime minister. Almost from the moment he takes office, he is smitten by Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), his rough-around-the-edges catering manager. But in true British fashion, he does not know how to tell her how he feels.
David’s sister Karen (Emma Thompson) discovers her husband (Alan Rickman) is on the verge of having an affair with his secretary. Karen is friends with Jamie (Colin Firth), a writer whose girlfriend has just left him for his younger brother. He escapes to France to work on his novel. This is where he meets and starts to fall for Aurelia, his Portuguese maid who can speak neither English nor French.
Meanwhile, Juliet (Keira Knightley) has just married Peter (Chiwetal Ejiofor), unaware of the fact that her new husband’s best friend Mark has been in love with her since they met. If that were not enough, the film also contains several secondary romances. These include John and Judy, a couple of actors who meet on the set of an adult movie; and Sarah (Laura Linney), an editor on Harry’s paper, who has fancied her co-worker Karl forever, but whose personal insecurities and demanding mentally ill brother make it difficult for her to sustain normal relationships.
Positive Look at Relationships
The story-within-a-story structure of Love Actually means that the film covers so many more aspects of love than would otherwise be possible. This is also its weak point, however, as the sheer number of characters can become confusing at times.
Despite some messy moments towards the end, when Curtis tries to draw the threads of all the different stories together, the film is ultimately a positive look at relationships and ordinary people’s search for, well, love actually.
Looking for more great holiday movies? Read a review of the Coen brother's Hudsucker Proxy here.
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