Love Actually [M]

It’s the lead up to Christmas and there’s no better time to profess one’s love. This very clever comedy explores the ups and downs of relationships in the weeks building up to Christmas. Boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and rock stars and managers all combine to make Love Actually not one love story, but many. 

THIS HAS TO BE MY SECOND FAVOURITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME! It had absolutely everything right. It was filled with wonderful stories, it’s really cleverly written, it has a beautiful soundtrack, and it has an absolutely stellar all-star cast, no joke. More than just a Christmas movie, Love Actually is a work of complete genius written and directed by Richard Curtis, which has created a film genre all its own. 

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate and revenge. They were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love, actually, is all around.” - Hugh Grant

This cleverly constructed comedy explores the ups and downs of relationships in the weeks building up to Christmas. Boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and rock stars and managers, make Love Actually not just one love story, but many. 

What makes this film so brilliant? Firstly, it is one of the most cleverly written films in the history of cinema. It is made up of many different little love stories that all subtly intertwine with one another. Either the characters know other characters or the paths of certain characters cross one another. It’s very very clever writing. 

Then there are the stories themselves. The film looks at all kinds of relationships, and I mean all kinds of relationships. Office admirers, distracted husbands, oblivious wives, cheating girlfriends, egocentric rock stars, admiring managers, stepfathers, stepsons, brothers, sisters, international etc. It’s really wonderful. 

AND THE CAST! OH MY GOODNESS! This film stars Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson, Keira Knightly, Martine McCutcheon, Laura Linney, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Kris Marshall, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and each performance is absolutely mesmerising. 

Filled with love, betrayal, weakness, familiar faces, and backed by a wonderfully clever script, Love Actually is without a doubt, my favourite movie. It’s one that I can watch again and again and again til the cows come home and it’s also created its own sort of genre of comedy with the way all the stories subtly intertwine. Films like He’s Just Not That Into You and Valentine’s Day take a leaf out of Love Actually’s book. 

“I feel it in my fingers. I feel it in my toes. Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows. It’s written in the wind, it’s everywhere I go. So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow.”