Actually...

Rating: 8/10 (13 September 2005)

There are films that one sees and find very nice; but that just at seeing them a second time, discovers the magic they contain, the charm and above all things, the quality in their genre. "Love Actually" is one of those movies; it is enchanting and very good as a movie, however excellent as a romantic comedy.
Although no one admits it, the genre of the romantic comedy is pretty underestimated, or in other case, left aside. I mean that there are no romantic comedies considered actually as movies, they are mostly entertainment and fun for a while; but I, as a fan of the genre, find more difficult developing a script within these terms than writing an action film, or on the other side a shocking drama ("it is easier to make cry than making laugh").
Specialists for this are people like Richard Curtis, who has been collecting hits as a writer in the last decades and now has had the chance to direct, and for the first time, what is the most delightful of his tales. I forgot to confess I prefer a drama to a romantic comedy, because of the variations that one can find. Dramatic writers (and this is easy) take things from any part of everyday life, and turn it into a story.
Instead, as I said a while ago, the ideas in the comedy field are drying out. The plots don't change much and sometimes we find ourselves watching the same thing, especially in the romantic comedy. As I was saying, Richard Curtis knows his theme, how it will begin and how it will end; the incredible thing about his scripts is what happens between that. How he makes us arrive to that satisfying final moment is what says everything about him. He has already proved it, creating different emotional impacts in movies like "Nothing Hill" or "Bridget Jones Diary", which could have been exactly the same.
And it is after more than ten years, that he grabs the camera with his hand. Maybe he felt the need, or maybe he realized he had to take possession of the lives of these characters. Because in "Nothing Hill" and "Bridget Jones" the central characters were two in a relationship, or three in a love triangle, and everything was more reduced; but in "Love Actually" they are neither two nor three, but a dozen of persons, which in some cases don't even relate, although they are united by a same bond: love, that is actually all around.
From that, we become witnesses of these people's hearts most deepest feelings and through the words and superb leadership of Curtis, and the portrayals of Hugh Grant (he should never change what he does, he's an expert), Colin Firth (keeps on growing in romantic terms), Emma Thompson (always talented), Alan Rickman (incredibly funny), Laura Linney (good in anything), Martine McCutcheon (a revelation), Bill Nighy (from other world), Keira Knightley (still divine and promising) and Liam Neeson (he reminds us what is the passion for work), plus an excellent ensemble; we understand, as a friend of mine said, that we must fight for what we love, without fear and against all odds, and that for loveNothing is impossible.