*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
If you're looking for a Christmas film that's full of romance, comedy and features some of the best British actors, look no further than Love Actually.
The film focuses on the lives of several characters as they prepare for the biggest holiday of the year: Christmas. The characters include: married couple Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) who are preparing for their children's nativity play; Daniel (Liam Neeson) whose wife has recently passed away and is shocked to discover that his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), has developed a crush on a girl at school; Juliet (Keira Knightley) who has just married Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), however, her husband's best friend, Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has feelings for her he's finding difficult to hide; Jamie (Colin Firth) who, after discovering his wife was having an affair with his brother, flies out to Portugal and unexpectedly finds love; the newly elected Prime Minister, David (Hugh Grant), who falls in love with his secretary, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) and many more.
Featuring a lot of characters in one film can be a tricky thing. After a while, it becomes difficult to keep up with what's going on. Fortunately, the director, Richard Curtis, gets the pacing and editing right. Yes, some characters are less developed than others especially Martin Freeman's Jack and his love interest, Judy, played by Joanna Page. However, their time on screen is short and sweet.
I would say that Thompson's Karen and Rickman's Harry get the most screentime. Thompson is one of the best British actresses and her performance as Karen is definitely one of her best as we clearly see her struggling with the fact that her husband may be having an affair with his employee, Mia (Heike Makatsch) and putting a brave face on for their children. The scene where she's in her room having a private cry is one of the most heartbreaking scenes and I'm sure a lot of women will be able to relate to her and her situation. Despite playing an unlikable character, I think that this will be one of the performances that the late Rickman will always be remembered for. He brings charm to Harry and, although we can clearly see him flirting with Mia throughout the film, we never hate him and that's because of Rickman's portrayal. One of my favourite scenes is when he is in a jewellery shop and he purchases a necklace. The shop assistant, Rufus (Rowan Atkinson), then asks him if he would like it 'gift wrapped' which then leads to one of the funniest scenes in the film. Now, whenever I watch this scene, it feels bittersweet because it's sad that Rickman is no longer with us.
I loved watching the relationship between Daniel and his stepson, Sam as, while Christmas is meant to be a time of celebration and love, for these two, it's a time of mourning and loss. However, Daniel soon finds out that Sam has a crush on a girl at school and he becomes focused on helping him win her over. By the end of the film, the two become close as their father-and-son relationship develops.
I doubt that Love Actually would be half as good without the comedy and there's a lot. Curtis wanted us to feel good during this holiday season and he does so successfully by featuring a group of characters that bring comic relief to the film. One of the funniest characters is Billy Mack (Bill Nighy), who is a rock and roll legend who records his version of Wet Wet Wet's classic 90s pop hit, 'Love Is All Around' but replaces the word 'Love' with 'Christmas'. However, it's his relationship with manager, Joe (Gregor Fisher), that the film focuses on. Joe is always there for Billy despite the promo tour not always going to plan. Speaking of which, the scenes that show Billy trying to promote his new single are where the comedy works best as he makes crude comments live on TV and radio. Without a doubt, one of Nighy's funniest performances.
Despite its amazing cast of British actors, there are some appearances from American actors including Billy Bob Thorton as the President of the United States who flirts with Natalie on his trip to the United Kingdom much to David's annoyance. However, it's Laura Linney's performance that is the most memorable. She plays Sarah who is employed by Harry and has a crush on her co-worker, Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), but can't seem to talk to him. Unfortunately, she soon realises that their relationship can't work out because of her mentally ill brother who she has to look after. We feel sympathetic towards Sarah and want her to be with Karl but we know it just can't be.
Over a decade after its release and it has now become a Christmas classics which isn't surprising. It's one of the most enjoyable films to watch during this season as it's full of love and humour.
8/10
The film focuses on the lives of several characters as they prepare for the biggest holiday of the year: Christmas. The characters include: married couple Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) who are preparing for their children's nativity play; Daniel (Liam Neeson) whose wife has recently passed away and is shocked to discover that his stepson, Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), has developed a crush on a girl at school; Juliet (Keira Knightley) who has just married Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), however, her husband's best friend, Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has feelings for her he's finding difficult to hide; Jamie (Colin Firth) who, after discovering his wife was having an affair with his brother, flies out to Portugal and unexpectedly finds love; the newly elected Prime Minister, David (Hugh Grant), who falls in love with his secretary, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) and many more.
Featuring a lot of characters in one film can be a tricky thing. After a while, it becomes difficult to keep up with what's going on. Fortunately, the director, Richard Curtis, gets the pacing and editing right. Yes, some characters are less developed than others especially Martin Freeman's Jack and his love interest, Judy, played by Joanna Page. However, their time on screen is short and sweet.
I would say that Thompson's Karen and Rickman's Harry get the most screentime. Thompson is one of the best British actresses and her performance as Karen is definitely one of her best as we clearly see her struggling with the fact that her husband may be having an affair with his employee, Mia (Heike Makatsch) and putting a brave face on for their children. The scene where she's in her room having a private cry is one of the most heartbreaking scenes and I'm sure a lot of women will be able to relate to her and her situation. Despite playing an unlikable character, I think that this will be one of the performances that the late Rickman will always be remembered for. He brings charm to Harry and, although we can clearly see him flirting with Mia throughout the film, we never hate him and that's because of Rickman's portrayal. One of my favourite scenes is when he is in a jewellery shop and he purchases a necklace. The shop assistant, Rufus (Rowan Atkinson), then asks him if he would like it 'gift wrapped' which then leads to one of the funniest scenes in the film. Now, whenever I watch this scene, it feels bittersweet because it's sad that Rickman is no longer with us.
I loved watching the relationship between Daniel and his stepson, Sam as, while Christmas is meant to be a time of celebration and love, for these two, it's a time of mourning and loss. However, Daniel soon finds out that Sam has a crush on a girl at school and he becomes focused on helping him win her over. By the end of the film, the two become close as their father-and-son relationship develops.
I doubt that Love Actually would be half as good without the comedy and there's a lot. Curtis wanted us to feel good during this holiday season and he does so successfully by featuring a group of characters that bring comic relief to the film. One of the funniest characters is Billy Mack (Bill Nighy), who is a rock and roll legend who records his version of Wet Wet Wet's classic 90s pop hit, 'Love Is All Around' but replaces the word 'Love' with 'Christmas'. However, it's his relationship with manager, Joe (Gregor Fisher), that the film focuses on. Joe is always there for Billy despite the promo tour not always going to plan. Speaking of which, the scenes that show Billy trying to promote his new single are where the comedy works best as he makes crude comments live on TV and radio. Without a doubt, one of Nighy's funniest performances.
Despite its amazing cast of British actors, there are some appearances from American actors including Billy Bob Thorton as the President of the United States who flirts with Natalie on his trip to the United Kingdom much to David's annoyance. However, it's Laura Linney's performance that is the most memorable. She plays Sarah who is employed by Harry and has a crush on her co-worker, Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), but can't seem to talk to him. Unfortunately, she soon realises that their relationship can't work out because of her mentally ill brother who she has to look after. We feel sympathetic towards Sarah and want her to be with Karl but we know it just can't be.
Over a decade after its release and it has now become a Christmas classics which isn't surprising. It's one of the most enjoyable films to watch during this season as it's full of love and humour.
8/10
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