The for and against debate

Rating: Null/10 (23 November 2003)

****************** SPOILERS AHEAD ************************
Love Actually appears to be a movie that fiercely divides people: Cosmo in the UK Sunday Times called it "smaltschy' (although that's probably spelt wrong). IMDB users differ from fantastic to likes & dislikes to simply nauseous (or even `nautious' in some cases!!). I'd like to address some of these opinions and add my own.
Firstly to those like Cosmo that thought the film was over sentimental, that it wrapped up too neatly, and other such comments. My answer: yes and no. While it's true to say that Love Actually is a manipulative film, I think it should rather be viewed more as a fairytale. Critics are a hard bunch. Their main problem is they would have been sitting there almost in tears and yet annoyed that a movie should affect them so. Why can't they just sit back and relax? Admittedly some of the stories were silly and implausible, such as Colin's [Kris Marshall] trip to the girl haven of America. But can't we put these niggles aside?
Furthermore the story is not wrapped up. This is NOT a traditional love story or necessary a happy ending. The point is rather that love can be found, lost, misplaced, re appropriated. Of the storylines only a few are optimistic in finale. Daniel [Liam Neeson] has lost his one love by her death. Daniel's son expresses his feelings to Joanna, yet the story offers no real pointers to which way this could swing: she revisits London at the end of the movie but is this just for a week, a month? Who knows? Karen [Emma Thompson] is faced with the dilemma of not knowing whether to stick or split. Her husband Harry [Alan Rickman] has succumbed to his secretary and bought her a necklace. We do not see if there was sex involved or how far the relationship went however.
Meanwhile Mark [Andrew Lincoln] is in love with his best friend's wife [Keira Knightley]. Sarah and Carl [Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro] also fizzle as she decides that she is going to put her disturbed brother before any office relationship. The stories that do end on an upbeat are those of Natalie and the PM [Martine McCutcheon and Hugh Grant], and Jamie [Colin Firth]. Not exactly then a film that wraps up neatly and optimistically all round.
The skill of Love Actually is in its true to life stories: not everything does turn out all right in the end. For those who say the film has followed in the steps of mainstream American cinema with the glitz and the glamour, it hasn't. You cannot divorce it from it's British flavour, not merely because of the scenes of the Thames, Selfridges, and other landmarks.

And to those who said there was too much nudity: only two stories contain any nudity as far as I recall. Laura Linney, which could be construed as unnecessary, and Judy and John, the movie stand-ins [Joanna Page and Martin Freeman]. Here the nudity seems appropriate, as it is one of the most touching storylines. They come to work, know each other's bodies in detail, and yet talk about traffic and small talk. It's unusual that to people that have seen each other naked and simulated sex together before even going out, it is a kiss that they are both hesitant about and which means everything.

The cast is literally superb. The storylines may not interlink as much as people would like. Some of it is silly and sometimes, as much as cameos are quite cool, they can get a little overwhelming  Billy Bob Thornton, Claudia Schiffer, Ant & Dec, Shannon Elizabeth, Denise Richards, etc etc. Working Title and Curtis have obviously though hard about the marketing of the film, the stories, the pitches, to set it 4 weeks before Christmas and then release it 4 weeks before Christmas. But what they've formed is a top-notch film. It begins and ends with the Heathrow arrivals scene, with real people meeting their loved ones. This is a film about love, about people and their connections, however much it is showered with big name stars and cameos. It is a film that neither tells us what love should be or dictate to us.
If I've at times been ineloquent, I've tried to misplace some of the complaints mentioned against this film. Some are just malicious gibbering against British films in general, others about how it doesn't live up to other films. I think this is one of the best films I've seen this year. Far superior to the bad films recently and a nice alternative to badly made action films; here I'm thinking of Charlie's Angles 2, Matrix Revolutions, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen among others. All films have errors and problems, and this is no exception, but it is a great movie. And that can't be said of every film out there.