Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 15 mins
Director. Richard Curtis
Cast. Rowan Atkinson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Firth, Gregor Fisher, Martin Freeman, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, Heike Makatsch, Kris Marshall, Martine McCutcheon, Lúcia Moniz, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Joanna Page, Alan Rickman, Claudia Schiffer, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton.
Rating. 60%
Following his remarkable success as a screenwriter on Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary, Richard Curtis' first foray behind the lens as a director was Love Actually.
A patchwork of fragmented vignettes, the film is in essence, eight 'love' stories accompanied by the additional bonus of Bill Nighy's ageing rock star, Billy Mack and his shameless attempt to usurp Blue to the prestigious Christmas number one spot.
Set in the run-up to Christmas 2003, Love Actually is firmly ensconced in many people's essential Christmas viewing tradition. I think Love Actually is a charming film. Sentimental - for many, overly sentimental. But, in the cold light of day, Love Actually is seriously flawed.
In truth, how could it not be? The eight occasionally connected 'love' stories are supported by a highly talented ensemble cast of at least 25 noteworthy actors. Time constraints curtail any attempt at character development and Curtis, unsurprisingly, struggles to develop any storyline with any degree of satisfaction.
Nonetheless, within the film, there are wonderful moments of tenderness, pathos and elation.
In particular, the unspoken romance between Jamie (Colin Firth) and the beautiful Portuguese housemaid, Aurelio (Lúcia Moniz) that blossoms via failed momentary glances on the daily car journey home.
The power Emma Thompson brings to the potentially one-dimensional role of Karen, wife to Harry (Alan Rickman), MD of a design agency. The poignancy of Karen composing herself in her bedroom, desperately attempting to remain dignified and steadfast for the children is all too much. All played out to an accompanying soundtrack of Joni Mitchell's melancholic Both Sides Now. And at the very moment Karen's world potentially implodes, without thought, she stoically adjusts the throw on the bed. A devastatingly painful observation of the taken-for-granted homemaker.
But it is the storyline, and the on-screen relationship between Sam (a standout performance from a young Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and his stepfather, and recently widowed Daniel (Liam Neeson) that for me, pulls the biggest emotional punch. Sam's run through the airport in pursuit of the love of his life on the paternal advice to follow your heart at all costs must surely melt the coldest of hearts.
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