What viewers around the world see in the cult New Year comedy Love Actually

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

"Love Actually" is a very popular Christmas film in England, but in our country it is more likely associated with the New Year. The opening and closing shots are devoted to the meetings of people who love each other, and everything that happens during the film narration is the creation of new happiness in new or old relationships. A lot of different, but true love, doubt, tears, hope, a little purely Christmas - or New Year's - miracle, and now we have a film that perfectly complements the first days of the beginning of the year.

Love from Richard Curtis

Richard Curtis, screenwriter and director, decided to shoot "Love Actually" in order to realize as many of his ideas as possible at once: there were so many plots invented by him, by his own admission, that, taking into account the three-four-year shooting period of each film, everything could just "not enough life." Love Actually brought together nine different stories, and the narrative develops so that more and more storylines are gradually intertwined with each other, and in the film's finale it turns out that almost all the characters in the film are connected by various kinds of ties, except for the old rocker Billy and his manager.

All these film narrations are about love in the broadest sense of the word, although some of the original components of the plot were eventually excluded by Curtis - for example, the story of the romance of two women, one of whom is dying.

Husbands and wives, lovers, those who hide their feelings and those who are ready to notify the whole world about them, parents and children, colleagues and partners who have become closer to each other, those who cannot make a choice, and those who do not consider it is necessary, - Love Actually tells about them, and not only about them. The stories from the film develop over the five weeks leading up to Christmas.

Love is different, but still real

All the storylines are roughly equivalent, there are no main characters in the film, but the story of the relationship between the young British Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant and Natalie, one of the employees of his department, seems to be central. This male character has won the special love of the English public, since he has embodied things impossible in the real world on the screen - of course, his victorious fight with the American president comes to the fore. But overseas, for this very reason, the film "Love Actually" was perceived much cooler.

The sister of the Prime Minister, Karen, unfolds her own story, in which her husband Harry and her husband's secretary become active participants, nothing, it would seem, original, but in the performance of Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, this narrative becomes extremely poignant - perhaps because that the actress was well aware of the feelings that her heroine experienced. The love and relationships of the "adult" generation in general give a noticeable drama in this film. This is Sarah's throwing (played by Laura Linney) between a colleague she liked and a mentally ill brother, the difficulty in combining these two hypostases - a loving sister and a woman in love.

Father's love, and even for a child who is not biologically related, is from the story of Daniel's stepfather, who recently buried his wife, and Sam's stepson, a teenager who misses and yearns for his deceased mother, but at the same time has feelings for a girl from school.

A somewhat cynical at first glance and touching in essence, the story of the long-term relationship between Billy, the musician who records the Christmas song, and his manager - without any reference to romance, becomes an illustration of a strong, loyal friendship.

And young people provide the film with a comedic component - like Colin, who leaves for America before Christmas from cold Englishwomen to hot girls of the New World. He finds, of course, what he was looking for, it is not in vain that Christmas comes and miracles happen.

A special character, an angel or Santa's helper, was supposed to be responsible for the magic in the film - the role was intended for Rowan Atkinson. He played a man who, with his seemingly random actions, directs the development of events in the right direction - but in the final version of the script, his character became quite "earthly", but by the way - it's all about the perception of the film by the viewer and the degree of faith in the Christmas miracle.

Actors you can't help but love

Many stars of English - and not only - cinema were invited to participate in "Real Love". One of the most romantic roles - of a writer who falls in love with a Portuguese housekeeper, not understanding a word of her speech and not being able to be understood by her - was played by Colin Firth. The young wife, who becomes the object of platonic love from her husband's friend, was played by eighteen-year-old Keira Knightley, who was only five years older than teenager Sam.

In the film "Love Actually" you can see the director's daughter - Scarlett Curtis played the role of a girl in a lobster costume, and she agreed to this only on condition that she met Keira Knightley on the set. Well, then the girl did not yet know that the actress Emma Thompson, who was next to her, would become the performer of the role of Sibyl Trelawney in the Harry Potter film "Prisoner of Azkaban" next year. By the way, Alan Rickman, who played her husband, is a participant in the same epic.

One of the main reasons audiences all over the world love the film is, of course, the cast of world-famous stars. A kind of record among them went to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, who appeared on the screen for a total of only one minute, but received a fee of two hundred thousand pounds - apparently, quite deservedly.

Filming took place during the three autumn months of 2002, and by the end of the next year, 2003, the film appeared on the screens of cinemas around the world. The final footage was filmed in the arrival hall of Heathrow, where cameras were installed, and members of the film crew asked the consent of the people in the frame to be shown in the film.

The filmmakers said that this picture is about love and the meaning of love, and it turns out that more than two hours of screen time only slightly lifted the veil over something huge and diverse, often contradictory and always leaving a mark on human destinies. In 2017, a sequel short film was released, it tells about how the life of the characters of "Love Real" developed for thirteen years after that very Christmas.

And 10 more films for the New Year mood: here.