Starts off weak but grows on you after a while...

Rating: Null/10 (29 December 2007)

With one of the biggest star casts I have ever seen, and 8, yes 8, different story lines, I was expecting a rom-com that I would adore. I didn't exactly ADORE Love Actually, but I do admit that it is a very cute movie which I enjoyed a lot.
As I said, there are 8 whole different stories. Each one is completely different and I think that some are better than others.
Couple #1 - Harry (Alan Rickman) and Karen (Emma Thompson) have been married for many years. Now with 2 growing children and lots of tension from work, Harry is going through a lot of stress, and gets involved with the seductive Mia, his secretary from work. Christmas approaches and Harry buys her an expensive gold necklace, when Karen finds out, she instantly realises he is having an affair. Can their relationship survive?
Couple #2- Jamie's (the charming Colin Firth) girlfriend is found to be having an affair with his brother. Heartbroken and upset, he goes to relax in his French cottage to forget it all. Jamie becomes dissolved in his writing, and can think of nothing else, until he meets the sweet Aurélia, a nice Portuguese woman who becomes his housekeeper. Slowly an indescribable bond forms between the both of them. What happens from there?
Juliet (played by Kiera Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are a young pair in love. On their wedding day, Peter's best man and best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) videotapes the pretty ceremony. When Juliet sees the professional video of her wedding day she is shocked, as it is disastrous and the colours have gone wrong. Wanting a videotape of her special day, she sweetly asks Mark for his copy, even though she knows he is always cold and angry towards her. When Juliet sees the video Mark had took, she is stunned. They are all close-ups of her, smiling and laughing, and Juliet finds out Mark is secretly in love with her. How will she deal with this is the story of Couple #3.
Couple #4 - Sarah (Laura Linney) has been in love for Karl (the cute Rodrigo Santoro), ever since she joined her office, -which we learn is Harry's design company-, which was over 2 years ago, a fact that everyone seems to know. Sarah unfortunately has a brother with a mental illness and she has to regularly mess up her life to support him, as she feels it is her responsibility. Karl and Sarah get together and she is incredibly happy, until her brother seems to ruin her relationship with Karl forever. This is the story of a brother/sister love as well as relationships and one of the best in the film.
Judy and John (Joanna Page and Martin Freeman) romance blossoms over the set of an erotic movie, as they are the body doubles. The pair are very comfortable with each other, even though they are working together and there is constant nudity and sexual actions. Their relationship gets stronger over time and they are Couple #5.
Couple #6 - Daniel is a widower and is now a single parent, raising his stepson Sam. Sam is miserable over the days and Daniel, trying hard to take over his newly-found responsibility, tries to find out what it is. He finds out Sam is "in love" with a pretty young girl singer from school, who is co-incidentally named Joanna, which was the name of his late wife. Daniel, still getting over the loss of his love, forgets it for the sake of his stepson and encourages Sam to tell Joanna how he feels towards her. Their lovely journey of a father and son, and also their love lives, is #Couple 6.
The newly elected Prime Minister, David (the dashing Hugh Grant), has a soft spot for one of the members of his catering staff, called Natalie (Martine McCutcheon). They pursue a silent relationship, not much apart from some flirting. After a situation with Natalie and the President of USA, David redistributes her, as he is beginning to think his feelings for her are affecting his job. After a Christmas Card fiasco, he realises his love for her and sets out to find her. Together they make up the cute #7th Couple.
Lastly, Colin (Kris Marshall) is a wannabe playboy. Failing with almost every girl he meets, he sets off to America to find love, to the amusement of his best friend Tony. He finds 3 sexy girls who let him stay with him...He is #8.
It is difficult to choose a favourite storyline because each one is different but very lovable, and for example, David and Aurélia are the funniest couple (with Aurélia being hilarious in her Portuguese dialect), but Mark and Juliet's awkward bond being the most understandable and difficult. Each actor gives a great performance and many scenes will leave you moved. Love Actually is not just a romance, it is a comedy, (though the romance factor takes over the comedy). The humour is very British, so people from other parts of the world may find it weird to understand, but all in all, it is a great movie with lots of fun, that will help you understand love. The ending is particularly moving and the most interesting feature of Love Actually is definitely the way the director has entwined all the stories.
A charming Brit movie.