A palpable success, actually

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2003)

The film opens with the recording of a cynical repackaging of the old hit single "Love Is All Around" by an aging rocker who aims to hit the populist Christmas market and critics have suggested that essentially "Love Actually" is a manipulative reworking of earlier Richard Curtis scripts designed to pull in cinemagoers in the run-up to Christmas.
It certainly is - but it is rather more. The evidence of the crowds at my multiplex is that Curtis has succeeded handsomely in his directorial debut and created a natural feel-good alternative to "It's A Wonderful Life" for television viewing at endless future yuletides.
OK, so this is moviemaking by the numbers, but they are some numbers. A multi-stranded storyline gives us nine different looks at love, most of them sweet to the point of saccharine, but the whole thing is saved from excessive sentimentality by a couple of harder-edged scenarios, one topical political scene, and a cracking script with lashings of humour.

The whole thing lacks focus and a clear narrative form, but few viewers will bother. They'll be too occupied laughing at the gags and spotting all the stars.
The cast is one to die for. We have the best of British - from Hugh Grant as the affable Prime Minister to Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling shop assistant, with the highlights being Bill Nighy as the over the hill and over the top rock star and Emma Thompson as someone who can express pain equally as well as laughter. These 'Brits as imagined by Yanks' only exist in Curtis's dream world but we cannot help but warm to them.
On top of these dozen or so skilful performances, we have several surprise guest appearances by Americans, a German super model, and a delightful Portuguese ingenue. Throw in tourist scenes of London and a lively soundtrack and you have all the ingredients for a runaway success.