If you feel like love has let you down give "The Holiday" a try!

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2012)

"The Holiday", is by far one of the best love films of the new millennium. Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) was a successful business woman from Los Angeles, California who lacked the ability to express her emotions. She decides to try something new and take a vacation after the breakup with her unfaithful boyfriend Ethan (Edward Burns). While in search of the best get-a-way, Amanda stumbles across Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) from London, England. Iris finds out that her ex-boyfriend Jasper Bloom (Rufus Sewell) of whom she is still in love with tends to marry someone else. After a series of instant messaging the two ladies decide to exchange lives for two weeks. Amanda not accustomed to the atmosphere of England begins to question her decisions and prepare to travel back home. That is until she meets Graham (Judd Law), Iris's older and handsome brother. Life for Iris was going great in the sunny state of California. She happens to meet a gentleman and well respected Hollywood script writer by the name of Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach). Iris took a special interest in Arthur and they both became a necessity for each other's well-being. Miles (Jack Black) is a music composer who is head over hills in love with Maggie (Shannyn Sossamon). Maggie is an actress who does not reciprocate the same feelings that Miles has. Meanwhile, he finds himself falling for Iris and his way of thinking becomes more apparent after he spotted Maggie on a date with another man.
The theme of "The Holiday" is how you have to break out of your comfort zone to see what else life has to offer; otherwise you could be limiting yourself and other resources. We get to comfortable and complacent in situations while not realizing that there could be better opportunities for happiness. Amanda and Iris had no idea that taking this huge risk would allow them to fill the void that they were missing. Iris finally had the strength to stand up to Jasper after experiencing the joy that Arthur and Miles provided. Amanda found herself shedding tears while leaving England after her two week vacation. This was the point when she realized how much Graham changed her life. "The Cider House Rules", demonstrates the same concept. Homer, the orphan from St. Clouds, had never been away from the home besides failed adoptions as a child. He comes to the conclusion that he wants to see the world and partake in everyday normal activities. Homer gathered the courage to leave the orphanage so he could have something to compare life to. Amanda and Iris both discovered the value of love and happiness in places they had never been.
The camera's angle focused a lot of Amanda's facial expressions. For instance, the scene where she and Graham share one of their intimate moments cast off a surprised and shocked look. Amanda did not expect for Graham to pour his heart out and say the things he said. Therefore, her non verbal communication caused him to become defensive. She attempted to play it off by providing him with a kiss. Amanda's hard shelled feelings would not allow her to open up and step out her comfort zone. Then the camera goes black and switches to the next scene. The lighting created a beautiful picturesque idea of California while England was snowy and cold. Both ladies had to become adjusted to the time change in order to appreciate the house exchange. Once Iris discovered she was able to block out the piercing sunny light her life was great. Amanda and Iris were grateful for the sun and the snow after they came to find that their environments were just a small part of their happiness.