Love Actually (2003)

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

Director:

Richard Curtis

Writer:

Richard Curtis

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 10 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Nighy	...	Billy Mack
Gregor Fisher	...	Joe
Rory MacGregor	...	Engineer
Colin Firth	...	Jamie
Sienna Guillory	...	Jamie's Girlfriend
Liam Neeson	...	Daniel
Emma Thompson	...	Karen
Lulu Popplewell	...	Daisy - Her Daughter
Kris Marshall	...	Colin Frissell
Heike Makatsch	...	Mia
Martin Freeman	...	John
Joanna Page	...	Just Judy
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Peter
Andrew Lincoln	...	Mark
Keira Knightley	...	Juliet

Storyline

The characters are falling in love, falling out of love, some are with right people, some are with the wrong people, some are looking to have an affair, some are in the period of mourning; a capsule summary of reality. Love begins and love ends. They flirt a lot. They are all flirting with love. At all ages and social levels, love is the theme. Romantic love and brotherly love is the hotchpotch through out the movie. Most of the movie is filmed in London, during Christmas and the characters all ended up at Heathrow airport a very uplifting note.

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Plot Keywords:

love | christmas | friend | travel | minister | 

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Taglines:

The ultimate romantic comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [us]

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English Portuguese French

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love Actually Is All Around

Filming Locations:

Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Budget:

£30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$647,984 (Japan) (6 February 2004)

Gross:

$5,010,288 (Japan) (5 March 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min 129 min 129 min (Asian Edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS (as dts) Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When David (Hugh Grant) addresses his speech to the press, after the meeting with the President of the United States, he talks about the great things about Britain and candidly mentions 'Harry Potter.' Grant was set to appear as Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but left the film due to scheduling conflicts. Harry Potter co-stars Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy and Frances de la Tour appear in Love Actually, although the latter is seen only in deleted scenes.

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Goofs

The blanket on Aurelia's left shoulder keeps changing position from on and off her shoulder when they are in the house after being into the water.

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Quotes

Daniel: And her name's Joanna?
Sam: Yeah, I know, just like Mum. Spooky.
Daniel: Well, in one way then, we're in luck. At least we still have the god-like genius of Scott Walker.
[he puts Scott Walker's "Joanna" on the stereo, and they lip-sync to it]

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Crazy Credits

Harriet, the sexy one - Shannon Elizabeth

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

"I'll See It Through"
(2003)
By John McElhone (as McElhone) / Sharleen Spiteri (as Spiteri) / Guy Chambers (as Chambers)
Performed by Texas
Courtesy of Mercury Records Ltd (London)

User Reviews

A Holiday Fantasy Classic (Yes, Fantasy - Negative Reviewers Get Over It ;-)

This movie does come off as a bit shallow, and it contains characters who are one- dimensional caricatures of themselves. But guess what -- this movie is clearly in the romantic, holiday fantasy genre -- just like It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story are. And most people love those movies, so I don't get all the negative reviewing of this film. To me, this movie is clearly a fantasy piece, and as such it should not be subject to all the driveling negativity that would better be directed toward something terrible that masquerades as serious dramatic work. Would the British PM ever go knocking door to door with just one bodyguard? No Way! Do Londoners actually care what song is "number one for Christmas" more than Americans do?? (I'm seriously doubting it -- who other than a few teenagers and record promoters actually cares about charts?) This is clearly a work that's not to be taken as a "serious" movie, though it's seriously fun if you'll take it for the fantasy that it is.

I love this film. Despite the clearly fantastic story lines, I like the characters, and the amazing A-list cast does a great job. I caught it first in theatrical release, then I watched it three times back to back on a plane to London because the other choices were the abysmal "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "Duplex." Since I've caught it on HBO, and I've quickly realized it's one of those movies you can watch repeatedly when flipping channels for a quick "pick me up" that only fantasy movies can provide. My favorite movie of that sort is Groundhog Day, if that clues you into my argument.

The multi-threaded storytelling in this borrows from the likes of Magnolia, and the fact that it's a light hearted holiday theme flick place that device in interesting contrast.

I see Love Actually as a new holiday classic.