It’s eight years since we first watched ‘Love Actually’, and although I remembered it with some reservations, it seemed like an ideal DVD to watch in the run-up to Christmas. It’s often recommended as a seasonal film, and there’s an all-star cast. But while recalling one or two details, I’d pretty much forgotten what it was about.. other than love. The theme is about several kinds of love, not just traditional romance, and it’s cleverly done, comparing and contrasting quite different people and situations.
We first meet Billy (Bill Nighy) as an ex-addict pop singer, recording a new and rather naff Christmas single. He gets it wrong several times, but finally it’s done. Despite acknowledging that it’s dreadful, he promotes it in some unusual ways. Although Billy doesn’t know any of the people from the other threads, his single crops up in several of the other scenes.
The other storylines are a tad confusing at first, as there are several different ones running alongside each other. And they’re all connected in some way, although I’m not sure I grasped all the interrelationships. We see Hugh Grant as a new Prime Minister, for instance, one who is rather lacking in confidence. And then he falls for Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) the young woman who brings him tea and biscuits. There’s a bit of jealousy along the way, and there’s the added problem of him being in the media spotlight, but theirs is possibly the most ‘normal’ of the love stories.
The Prime Minister’s sister Karen (brilliantly portrayed by Emma Thompson) is married to Harry (Alan Rickman) who’s a somewhat abrupt businessman. They have two lively children and seem very well suited. We first meet Harry giving advice to Sarah, a young woman in his department who is in love with someone she works with. And we then meet him with his PA, Mia, who is very overtly trying to seduce him…
There’s a wedding scene, featuring a young couple and his best man who appears not to like the bride much, but in fact is in love with her. At the wedding reception, some of the other characters appear although only in minor roles. But it’s clear that they know each other fairly well.
One of the people at the wedding is Jamie (Colin Firth) who is by himself because his girlfriend is ill. Or so he thinks. When he pops back to check on her, he discovers that all is not as it seems. He then goes to France to work on a book, and the Portuguese girl sent to be his housekeeper is increasingly attracted to him. There are some quite amusing scenes when they are speaking to each other, neither understanding what the other says; the Portuguese is subtitled.
Just with those mentioned so far, there’s a developing relationship, new married love, middle-aged married love with the temptation to infidelity, a broken relationship, unrequited love, and undeclared love. The undeclared love looks as if it’s going to be resolved, until we discover that Sarah has a brother who is mentally unstable, and who keeps calling her. She is unable to commit to any other relationship, as she has to keep running to her brother’s rescue, or to keep him company. Fraternal love, in this instance, is supreme.
Probably my favourite storyline, however, involves the recently widowed Daniel (Liam Neeson) who is trying to develop a good relationship with his ten-year-old orphaned stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster). Sam is keen on a girl at his school, and the two bond over trying to find ways to make her notice him. Daniel and his late wife were close friends of Harry and Karen.
Then there are two storylines which I found less interesting, although they do provide some contrast, and also a bit of humour. There’s the rather nerdy Colin, who keeps putting his foot in it when he tries to chat up English girls. So he flies to the United States, convinced that his British accent will have the girls flocking around him. I had forgotten what happened, and assumed he would be mocked, if only behind his back. But his dreams come true…
The other storyline, one which turns this into an ‘adult’ story (although the UK rating is only 15) involves two actors who are being filmed in rather explicit scenes of a film. Neither of them seem to feel the least embarrassment about being naked, or simulating passion… and it’s quite amusing that they are both quite shy as individuals.
So there’s no single plot, just a series of snapshots in a wide variety of relationships, not all of them romantic. We see the different folk involved a month before Christmas, and at weekly intervals thereafter. And at the end there’s another scene at an airport, a month after Christmas, where we see everyone and get a glimpse of how their lives are progressing.
The film is a good mixture of amusing and poignant, with some excellent acting as well as rather obvious caricatures. It made an excellent movie to watch in December, and I hope we’ll see again sooner than eight years’ time.
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