How does one define LOVE?
Webster, in 1913, said love is ’’A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness;’’
Where does one find LOVE?
Ten Downing Street @ London, a villa in Marseille, an ’’American bar’’ in Milwaukee...Wherever u go, LOVE ACTUALLY, IS ALL AROUND.
So what is LOVE ACTUALLY?
LOVE ACTUALLY is candy floss romance at its best. It’s about Ten ’’as different as it gets’’ couples and their stories as they tangentially connect and culminate on ’’yes, you got it right’’ the ultimate season of Love - CHRISTMAS!!
Imagine the British PM (Hugh Grant) hitting off with the gal serving him tea Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) on his first day of work. To add to this, the President of the USA (Billy Bob Thornton), on a state visit, trying to make out with the same gal (a la Clinton) Clearly the romantically tortured British PMs jealousy is stoked - what happens next?
At the same time, the PMs sister Karen (Emma Thomson) is leading an unexciting, peaceful but complicated married life. Her elderly husband Harry (Alan Rickman) has fallen for the charms of the office siren Mia (Heike Makatsch). Does docile Karen, who suspects her husbands infidelity, take it lying down for the sake of their children or does she confront him and rock the seemingly calm boat?
A successful novelist Jamie (Colin Firth) is just recovering from a failed marriage - he leaves London for his cottage retreat in France to pull himself together but unexpectedly falls in love there with his Portuguese speaking housemaid Aurelia (Lucia Moniz). However language and culture appear to be his big barrier - will he overcome it and triumph in love?
An introverted, silently suffering Sarah (Laura Linney) whose life revolves around her mentally challenged brother falls for her co-worker Carl (Rodrigo Santoro) who reciprocates her feelings - But does she have the time for this relationship and more importantly, how much control does she have on her own decisions ?
Two stand-in movie actors (Jennifer Paige and Martin Freeman) starring in simulated sex scenes in porn films suddenly discover that they share more than an occupation in common - can love happen in circumstances as comical as this - Is physical intimacy everything ?
A former super rock star Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) is struggling to make it big again - so as a last ditch attempt he records a cynical Christmas version of his old superhit. He is annoyingly rude, brash, cocky and acerbic making no qualms about showing his dislike for hypocrisy. Through his best friend and manager Joe (Gregor Fisher), Billy wakes up to what love is all about.
What happens when your best friend marries your secret love? This is the predicament facing Mark (Andrew Lincoln) when Peter and Juliet(Chiwetel Ejiofor and Keira Knightley) take their vows. But is it always necessary for true love to be requited ? Its Christmas time and so Mark confesses to Juliet - So what next?
A widower Daniel (Liam Neeson) with a son Sam (Thomas Sangster) from his wife’s previous marriage has difficulty connecting with the kid - All this till Sam gets infatuated with a school mate Joanna - Daniel then helps the son speaks his heart to the gal and in the process rediscovers love himself.
A highly testosterone charged young lad Colin (Kris Marshall) wants to move over to the US where he imagines that his ’’cool’’ accent and ’’sexy’’ personality would have gals lining up to sleep with him. So does he finally find ’’love’’ ?
Some of these stories end on Christmas day, the questions answered... Some are left dangling, questions are unanswered but that is LIFE.
Richard Curtis who wrote such classics (?? for some) as NOTTING HILL and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL takes a promotion from just scriptwriter and wields the directors baton for the first time. Hard nosed critics panned the movie for its , ’’predictable endings’’ and ’’contrived dialogues’’ - in fact some even nastily commented that it was so cheesy that it sucked all the sugar from one’s blood. Sorry but I, for one, felt the dialogues were sharp and outrageously tongue in cheek at places - Check out the typical Brit humour when Hugh Grant takes a dig at Maggy Thatcher :-)
Though there are as many as 9 tracks running parallel, what was arresting was the way Curtis skillfully managed to weave some of them together and then juggle between different threads without the audience getting bored. What also works to an extent is Curtis’ time tested formula of concocting ’’implausible scenarios’’ (remember Anna Scott going to William Hacker’s sisters Bday party) and manipulating sentiments with loads of mush, subtle humor mixed in the right proportions.
Another highlight was the ensemble star cast - the performances by Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy and Emma Thomson were outstanding, Hugh Grant was in top form but the scene stealers for me were young Thomas Sangster(Kya karen, I think kids make wonderful actors) and Andrew Lincoln (minimal dialogues - maximum effect with sheer expressions) Music by Craig Armstrong, so integral to such plots, lifts proceedings to dizzy heights on more than a few occasions. Michael Coulter’s camera captures the spirit of the Christmas season so well. In short, technically LOVE ACTUALLY is on a very sound wicket.
My favorite scenes:
When Hugh Grant goes knocking on doors desperately trying to find Natalie’s house and ends up singing carols for a bunch of kids.
When Andrew Lincoln symbolically conveys his love for Keira Knightley.
When Emma Thomson sees her Christmas gift and breaks down realizing that her husband is cheating on her.
Thomas Sansgter trying to meet his gal before she flies off to the US.
Colin Firth proposing to Lucia Moniz
Billy Mack’s recording scene
Summing up:
Life is a journey, and love is what makes that journey worthwhile.
Movies, in a way, are also like journeys. What makes them worthwhile is if they help us forget our problems - make us laugh, cry and feel good for all the entrance money’s worth. And on these counts LOVE ACTUALLY scores and scores heavily too. If light hearted romance is IN for you, LOVE ACTUALLY will not disappoint !