A decent movie with some impressive cinematography.

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 1999)

While this movie is decent overall, there were two scenes that make it particularly interesting for movie buffs.
As a movie buff, there are some scenes in movies which I'll probably never forget. Some of them are the opening scene in _Touch of Evil_, and Glen Close crying in the shower in _The Big Chill_.
The "passage of time / change of seasons" scene in _Notting Hill_ is now among those. I was amazed with this scene, and the choice of music ("Ain't no sunshine" by Bill Withers) was perfect. The cuts blend perfectly together -- at least I'm assuming they were filmed separately, since it required clothing changes for some of the participants. Aside from the obvious change of seasons, the passage of time is shown to have an effect on other characters, such as the pregnancy/baby of one woman and the sister's meeting/breaking up with a man.
There is a second scene, that while not as awe-inspiring, it was certainly technically well-done, and again reminds me of a similar technical feat in _Touch of Evil_. In the park scene, the camera pulls up and angles down. At first, I thought that was a sweet touch, showing how they are just two people in their own little world. But as the camera continued to pull up to somewhere around 75 feet above the ground, I recognized the engineering that went behind it. My guess is that they mounted a camera via wires and remotely controlled the angles and focus. I think putting a person up there would have been a bit too much. Does anyone actually know how it was done?
So while this movie is sweet enough to see, I feel it's a must-see for anyone who likes well-constructed cinematography.