The genuinely heart-warming stories aren’t necessarily the romantic ones, from Daniel and his son Sam managing to get through their first Christmas without Sam’s mum to the long-time friendship between manager Joe and rock ‘ n ‘ roller Billy Mack. Love Actually’s joys are to be found in its subplots.
Since 2003, the tide has gradually turned for Love Actually. That is not to say people don’t fight its corner, but others disregard it as being a bit naff or weird. Yet, despite several now problematic themes, Love Actually remains a classic festive offering due to its ensemble cast, which includes Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, Kris Marshall, and Rowan Atkinson.
The genuinely heart-warming stories aren’t necessarily the romantic ones, from Daniel and his son Sam managing to get through their first Christmas without Sam’s mum to the long-time friendship between manager Joe and rock ‘ n ‘ roller Billy Mack. Love Actually’s joys are to be found in its subplots.
Each story is linked, and if you’re thinking, “Wow, that sounds difficult”, you’d be right. Director Richard Curtis described the editing process as a “catastrophe” and “the only nightmare scenario that I’ve been caught in“. After all, when the editing of your film resembles a three-dimensional game of chess, you are sure of a challenging ride. Nonetheless, Curtis deftly pulls it off, and, in turn, it seems like everything went off without a hitch.
The resulting picture is undoubtedly a love letter to London, taking in iconic locations from Canary Wharf and Hyde Park to the Tate Modern and Selfridges. However, it also speaks directly to the Britpop era, which was in decline by the early millennium, and, in many ways, Love Actually feels like a love letter and a goodbye to it.
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