LOVE ACTUALLY Dir:Richard Curtis. Starring: Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Martine McCutcheon, Chris Marshall, Andrew Lincoln, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley. At the beginning of Love Actually Bill Nighy’s Jagger-esque rock star takes the piss of his godawful Christmas comeback single ‘Christmas Is All Round You’, and it’s a knowing nod from Curtis that not only has he spliced together ten shockingly romantic tales, but set it at Christmas too. He’s so aware of what he’s doing, and yes, he’s going to pull on those heartstrings as hard as he can. And boy, does he pull hard. And many film critics have criticised Love Actually for being too sickly, for being overly sentimental, but fuck it. Throw away your cynicism for once, ignore the odd lag in pace and dodgy moment, sit back, turn your brain off, and just enjoy this oh so sweet affair. It’s an Altman-esque comedy, in that it tells ten different stories where the characters rarely but occasionally mix together, and is all about, if you haven’t guessed, the joys of love, and overcoming the difficulties sometimes found in relationships. So we have Liam Neeson trying to come to terms with the death of his wife and get his eleven year old stepson the girl he desperately wants, Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister unsuitably falling for his tea lady, Colin Firth discovering his wife is sleeping with his brother and then falling for a girl who doesn’t speak any English, Alan Rickman considering an affair (which develops in to two different tales), Kris Marshall attempting to pull American girls, Martin Freeman chatting up a fellow porn star, Andrew Lincoln struggling to cope with his feelings for his best friend’s wife, Laura Linney attempting to overcome her shyness and ask out one of her fellow office workers, all intercut with Bill Nighy’s rock star trying to promote his new single and outrage the British public at the same time.
	And guess what? Yep, nearly all of the above characters find love in the end. Aww! And whilst we won’t spoil it for you by revealing too many of the outcomes, Curtis has thrown in a fair few classic movie romantic comedy clichés, so there’s a last minute dash to the airport, a proposal and an unlikey confession of love. But sod it, it works, mainly because Curtis manages to make it feel realistic throughout. And whilst it doesn’t work out for everyone, he still manages to make you feel good about this, which he definitely deserves plaudits for. Indeed despite this being largely a comedy, Curtis’ handling of the more dramatic moments is very well handled too, and reminds of Mike Leigh at times (this is a compliment by the way). He’s very comfortable with uncomfortable moments, though only Alan Rickman (as fine as always) and Emma Thompson (appealing for the first time in years) really have to act, the others deliver there lines in an amiable enough way. There are a few problems though. Not enough time is given to some of the stories, the most notable of these being Martin Freeman and Chris Marshall’s moments, which are far too brief and from time to time you’ll find yourself wondering if they’ve been forgotten completely. And it’s a shame that occasionally Love Actually isn’t as funny as it could have been. Curtis has proved himself to be one of Britain’s finest ever comedy writers (and I’m thinking Blackadder rather than Notting Hill here folks) but the odd joke falls a little flat, and his reliance on having upper class English types swearing lots for humourous effect is feeling a little overused now. Rowan Atkinson’s cameo is a tad odd too, being that it’s not actually funny at all, but well, it doesn’t really matter, this being a minor point. Ah, but I’ve criticised this too much already. Because despite it’s faults is simply a lovely little film, and one which will make the bitterest of hearts melt. Well, all apart from film critic’s hearts, anyhow. Alex Finch. Comments?
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