bigscreenviewing

Although Hugh Grant rates nominally as the star of Love, Actually, his character’s love story is but one of about a dozen told during the movie. What distinguishes his, in part, is that he plays the British Prime Minister in the movie. And he pulls it off credibly (as does Billy Bob Thornton, in his role as U.S. president. Lo and behold, Billy Bob cleans up real good!)

Other notable names featured in the movie are Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Chiewetel Ejiofor and Alan Rickman. Depicting varying aspects of love stories, the movie flits from one character’s story to another throughout its running time. As you might imagine, the storylines of the various love stories intersect each other, since there are links between and among the characters, making for a single story although it’s not the typical unified story spectators expect to see at the movies.

Not surprisingly, some of the love stories work better than others. There’s no chemistry at all between Hugh Grant’s prime minister and the actress playing the aide he falls for. In contrast, Colin Firth’s love story is truly touching, with a compelling setting in which he tells his beloved (in Portuguese, no less) how he desires her hand in marriage.

Although the movie features the Christmas holiday season, it’s not a holiday movie per se.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS