****
DVD Release
Yes, it’s true – until last night
I hadn’t seen ‘Love Actually’ all the way to the finish. So, with it being the
festive season all over again, I thought I’d put down my two pennies worth.
In the weeks running up to
Christmas, we meet and explore the relationships of various different couples.
Packed to the gunnels with A-list British actors, the film draws upon that most
frustrating, enduring and all-consuming of human emotions: love.
With so many different narrative
threads, some stories are inevitably stronger than others. The story of Colin
Frissell (Kris Marshall) and his quest to achieve an American girlfriend is in
quite poor taste, and the Colin Firth thread suffers from under development and
the conclusion is so completely over-the-top it verges on cringe-worthy.
However, the other stories are endearing. Liam Neeson is excellent as a
grieving widower struggling to connect with his stepson (an adorable Thomas
Sangster) – it is such a relief to see him doing something other than killing
various members of the Mafia and threatening people down the phone! Emma
Thompson is similarly as good as a wife struggling to cope with middle age and
an adulterous husband (Alan Rickman) – the scene in which she has a little weep
in the bedroom to Joni Mitchell is excellently judged and completely
heart-rending. The other more ‘weepy’ story is that of Sarah (Laura Linney) and
the love that is never fully realised because of her familial constraints.
But do not despair, for there is happiness
to be found here! Who can fail to be cheered by Hugh Grant, as the Prime
Minister, dancing to ‘Jump’ and telling the President where to stick it? And
who cannot laugh at the site of Rowan Atkinson? He doesn’t even have to do
anything in particular for it to be funny. But, wait – there’s Bill Nighy too,
playing aged rock star and potty mouth Billy Mack in the way that only Bill
Nighy can. The soundtrack is also nearly all ‘feel-good’, so don’t be snobbish
and have a giggle.
Yes, it is stupid in places. Yes,
the levels of saccharine are quite overpowering. Yes, the ‘romance’ can appear
a little forced in places... but Richard Curtis has an eye for human
relationships, and when this film works, it really
works. There are laughs, tears and moments of genuine humanity, and all that
mixed together means it will be a Christmas classic for years to come.
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