Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003): UK/USA
Reviewed by Kyle Calbreath. Viewed on DVD.
As the opening line goes, “Love, actually is all around.” I suppose this is true during the Christmas and Holiday season. Or we would hope so if you still believe. Even after being accosted and verbally abused by the normally stressed out holiday shoppers and travelers behaving like a bunch of ho-ho-ho’s.
Love Actually is a holiday ensemble film set in and around Britain that follows a set of people whose lives clumsily intertwine with the Christmas season.
In the opening scene the screen is flooded with people embracing at an airport. It appears that this film could perhaps be a documentary on human relationships narrated by Hugh Grant. What the movie turns into is actually a loving group of stories that is a charmingly well crafted, scripted look into human involvement with one another.
As anyone who knows me knows, I’m not a big fan of happy-go-lucky, romance filled films based on cutie characters, with some sad grab background, ala Love and Other Drugs. But this film tends to make my two-sizes-too-small heart warm a bit. It’s probably one of the only films where I’ve said the title and have a unanimous response of ‘I love that movie! So good!”
The soundtrack is winter wonderland corny, but then again so is Christmas, in a great shiny, nostalgic way even I long for all year. The title track is a composed smile based, noble jaunt that captures the feel of the film, which is bright, hopeful and a little cheeky.
The story takes on characters enduring all sorts of love issues. From the little boy who has lost his mother to a woman whose love of her life is a sick brother. An unattractive mate looking for meaningless shags, to the nude body doubles who meet on the job. And perhaps the most intriguing of all, a washed up David Bowie-ish rock star with a sarcastic apathy toward his new holiday jam played by Bill Nighy.
The mise-en-scene is rather natural except in a few special parts where it takes on a spectacular turn. Actions that would never happen in real life, but everyone almost wish they would. The famous cue card serenade, the love struck two who don’t understand spoken words, but do body language, and the little boy who when twirled by his stepfather drops glitter from his open palms. The usage of such items fascinate what is must feel like to experience that pitter patter feeling.
The script is full of aw inspiring lines like when Colin Firths character says “it’s my favorite time of day, driving you,” and his love interest responds, in Portuguese, “It’s the saddest part of my day, leaving you.” Awwwww. The writers sure know how to charm an audience.
The costume design in the film uses a lot of red. Not danger red, but in the sense of passion, sensuality and yes, again, love. Red is used when one is bitten by the love bug. Red is also usually worn by all the women. It’s often the desire for them by the men in the film that catches them off guard and sweeps them off there feet. Not to mention, again, it’s Christmas and red fits the occasion.
Love Actually is actually really sweet. It’s simple in its deliverance and message. In a world over stimulated with 3D action films, gritty indie dramas and cheesy romantic comedies it’s nice to once and a while have a movie watching experience that can remind those watching that the world has some relative good left in it, in Britain. That when you get goose bumps you might, just maybe, not be an awful prick of a human being.
Now before too many sugar plums fairies arrive around here, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and to all a good night.
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