Love Actually

I usually try to avoid films that feature an ensemble cast of actors and actresses who more or less get the same amount of screen time. I find that it is far too difficult for me to keep track of who's who and what's going on with each of them. That was the main reason that I didn't watch Love Actually until it came out on DVD. I wanted to be able to pause and rewind whenever I became confused about particular characters. That turned out to be a smart move!

Love Actually stars Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, and Bill Nighy, among many others (these are just the names that I recognized prior to viewing the movie). If you think that's a lot, just wait 'til you hear that there are nine (yes, nine) different plotlines that viewers must keep track of! So you can see why it was prudent for me to watch this movie on DVD.

It would be impossible to give an overview of what each storyline is about. If you haven't seen the movie, then the summaries will be extremely confusing and if you have seen the movie, then you won't need the summaries anyway.

Instead, I think it would be wiser to give an overview of the movie in general. Love Actually takes place a few weeks before Christmas, which is important because there's a school Christmas pageant that brings several of the characters together and an office Christmas party during which a couple of stories progress significantly. Because of the season involved, the overall tone of the movie is upbeat and I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that most of the love stories featured in the film work out satisfactorily. Although the Christmas theme is important to Love Actually, it would be oversimplifying things to categorize this as just another holiday movie. The filmmaker's message is much broader than that, and the movie should be viewed with this idea in mind.

Most of the storylines take place in London and most of the characters have some connection to each other. Part of the fun of watching Love Actually is to try to identify the various connections, some of which you're bound to miss on the first viewing. I've seen the movie several times and I still notice something new every time I watch it!

For an ensemble movie like this to work, the characters have to be distinctive, and they have to get their personalities across in a short timeframe. That's where having big-name actors benefits Love Actually. It's easy to remember that Hugh Grant is the Prime Minister, that Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson are married, that Liam Neeson is a grieving widow, that Bill Nighy is the aging rock star, and that Colin Firth is the recently betrayed writer. It's much harder to remember the characters that Andrew Lincoln, Heike Makatsch, Joanna Page, Martine McCutcheon, and Kris Marshall play because these actors weren't as well-known to me.

Overall, I thought Love Actually was a fantastic movie. Sure, it's syrupy in some places and contains several other flaws. But on the whole it was very enjoyable. I thought that there were many fine performances in this movie, and it's hard to choose just one or two that stood out above the rest. But if I were forced to decide, I would say that Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Grant were the most memorable for me. A lot of professional critics have praised the work of Bill Nighy in this movie, but I didn't really like his character and thought his storyline was boring. I thought I would warm up to him after repeated viewings, but it hasn't happened yet!

If you're looking for a feel-good movie that's all about the power of love, then you'll enjoy Love Actually. Be forewarned, though: You'll most likely have to watch it more than once in order to keep all the characters and storylines straight. But when you do, you'll just come to appreciate the entire film so much more. It's nearly impossible for me to pick a single favorite movie, but I have to say that Love Actually definitely makes it onto my list.