Starring: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson
Review: Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love. Among the characters explored are David (Hugh Grant), the handsome newly elected British prime minister who falls for a young junior staffer (Martine McCutcheon), Sarah (Laura Linney), a graphic designer whose devotion to her mentally ill brother complicates her love life, and Harry (Alan Rickman), a married man tempted by his attractive new secretary. Love Actually is a movie that hits you in all the feels. It will make you smile, laugh, and cry. With a fantastic ensemble cast, this movie does a great job intertwining a multitude of love stories and highlighting different types of loving relationships. Love between a married couple, dating couple, parent-child, co-workers, siblings, school crushes, and the list goes on. There is a lot of heart to this movie, and I think the cast does a wonderful job of really authenticating the heart and all of the human emotions you feel when watching this film. Love Actually exhibits love as a microcosm of life. Some relationships end in happiness, some fall by the wayside, and others hit you when you least expect it. This isn't normally the type of rom-com that I enjoy, as it's more mushy and the humor is more subtle at times. With that said, I think this is a very well-done film, and I highly recommend it!
Fun Fact: The airport greeting footage at the beginning and end of the film is real. Richard Curtis had a team of cameramen film at Heathrow airport for a week, and whenever they saw something that would fit in they asked the people involved for permission to use the footage.