good, actually

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2006)

Here is a rare bird in my cinema landscape. I really am no great fan of good-feeling movies or romantic comedies, but this Christmas film really succeeded to make me feel good, and romantic. Sure, Richard Curtis is one of the best directors in this genre, certainly the best British one, but it takes a pound of courage to engage in such a deprecated genre and a bunch of talent to get out with a cued piece of work like this one.
Multiple stories movies are often brought to screen in the last few years. To be successful you need not only for each story to be simple and credible, but you also need a script that gives enough individuality and weight for each of the segments, and a good director that brings everything to look like one piece of work, more like a good composer combines different orchestra sections in a symphony. Al these are present here, and moreover, a brilliant cast, including half of the who's who list of romantic comedy actors, and still allowing a few of them to do memorable creations, especially Bill Nighty in the aged rock star role. Hugh Grant is the only one who seems slightly mis-cast, and this is not because he is not a good romantic actor, but because he looks too young and unsure for a British Prime Minister to be believed.
'Love actually' will be on the holidays seasons TV schedules for many years, and for a change will be the one movie on the list that will not cause me switch channels.