The Girl in the Café (2005) (TV)

Director:

David Yates

Writer:

Richard Curtis (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love can't change what's wrong in the world. But it's a start.

Plot:

Lawrence, an aging, lonely civil servant falls for Gina, an enigmatic young woman. When he takes her to the G8 Summit in Reykjavik, however, their bond is tested by Lawrence's professional obligations.

Plot Keywords:

Civil Servant | Poverty | G8 Summit | G 8 | Rotating Camera

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Bill Nighy	...	Lawrence
Kelly Macdonald	...	Gina
Meneka Das	...	Sunita
Anton Lesser	...	George
Paul Ritter	...	Robert
Ken Stott	...	Chancellor
Federico Zanni	...	Italian Waiter
Penny Downie	...	Ruth
Damon Younger	...	Hotel Receptionist
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir	...	Assistant Receptionist
Marit Velle Kile	...	Waitress (as Marit Kile)
Philippe De Grossouvre	...	French Delegate
Louisa Bojesen	...	CNBC Newscaster
Christian Rubeck	...	German Senior Advisor (as Christian Pedersen)
Toshie Ogura	...	Japanese Delegate
Martin McDougall	...	American Senior Advisor
Corin Redgrave	...	Prime Minister
Wolf Kahler	...	Herr Gerhardt
Madeleine Potter	...	Secretary of the Treasury
Alysha Westlake	...	G8 Delegate
Simon Wilson	...	Journalist
Fran Purcell	...	Secretary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Max Bollinger	...	G8 reporter (uncredited)
Darri Ingolfsson	...	Icelandic waiter (uncredited)
Peter Rnic	...	Russian Finance Minister (uncredited)

Directed by
David Yates

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Curtis		screenplay

Produced by
Paul Abbott	....	executive producer: Tightrope Pictures
Hilary Bevan Jones	....	producer
Richard Curtis	....	executive producer
Julie Gardner	....	executive producer: BBC
Chris Thompson	....	line producer
Robert Velo	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Nicholas Hooper

Cinematography by
Chris Seager		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Mark Day

Casting by
Fiona Weir

Production Design by
Candida Otton

Art Direction by
Andrea Coathupe

Costume Design by
Jacky Levy

Makeup Department
Faye De Bremaeker	....	makeup supervisor (as Fay de Bremaeker)
Anne Oldham	....	hair designer (as Anne 'Nosh' Oldham)
Anne Oldham	....	makeup designer (as Anne 'Nosh' Oldham)

Production Management
Ted Ladlow	....	unit manager
Heidi Mount	....	post-production supervisor
Petur Sigurdsson	....	production manager: Iceland

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Caroline Chapman	....	third assistant director
Paul Frift	....	first assistant director
Adam Jenkins	....	crowd third assistant director
Paula Turnbull	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sigurbjörn Búi Baldvinsson	....	art department production assistant
Kevin Biggs	....	painter
Nick Bowen	....	painter
David Broadfoot	....	stand-by rigger (as Dave Broadfoot)
Ulrika Celsing	....	art department assistant
Chris Cull	....	property master
Steve DeJulius	....	stagehand
Gill Farr	....	production buyer
Stuart Haste	....	dressing props
Ben Johnson	....	dressing prop daily
Victoria Layson	....	graphics
Rob MacPherson	....	stand-by props
Adrian Platt	....	dressing props
Jason Reilly	....	construction manager
Lee Reilly	....	stand-by carpenter
Simon Riley	....	stand-by props
Sarah Stuart	....	stand-by art director
Bradley Wilcox	....	stagehand
Frazer Williamson	....	carpenter
Mark Williamson	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Pat Boxshall	....	dialogue editor
Stuart Hilliker	....	dubbing mixer
Jeremy Lishman	....	boom operator
Jamie McPhee	....	sound effects editor
Simon Okin	....	sound mixer
Adrienne Taylor	....	sound assistant
Joanne Dunphy	....	sound assistant (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Davis III	....	special effects senior technician
Hugh Goodbody	....	special effects technician
Mark Holt	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Paul Beard	....	visual effects line producer
Tamsin Edwards	....	visual effects producer
Simon Frame	....	visual effects supervisor
Isaac Layish	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Anthony	....	best boy
Joss Barratt	....	still photographer
Ray Bateman	....	electrician
Jon Beacham	....	focus puller
David Broadfoot	....	stand-by rigger (as Dave Broadfoot)
Dick Conway	....	electrician
Arnar Einarsson	....	local grip
Steve Ellingworth	....	camera grip
Jess Foster	....	rigger
Jeremy Hiles	....	camera operator
Stuart King	....	gaffer
Joseph Mastrangelo	....	assistant camera
Tom McFarling	....	clapper loader
Gary Parnham	....	electrician
Ingvar Stefánsson	....	electrician
Paul Worley	....	second grip
Elli Cassata	....	director of photography: second unit, Iceland (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Heather Howell	....	assistant costume designer
Pookie Russell	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Chris Beeton	....	colorist
Justin Eely	....	on-line editor
Emily Grant	....	assistant editor
Ulrike Münch	....	assistant editor

Music Department
P.J. Bloom	....	music supervisor

Other crew
David Blank	....	assistant accountant
Victoria Brooks	....	publicist: pictures
Adam Browne	....	location manager
Kate Cobbold	....	production accountant
Joey Coughlin	....	floor runner
Tim Elliott	....	floor runner
Racquel Findlay	....	production secretary
Alice Freedman	....	production runner
Emma Freud	....	script editor
Deborah Goodman	....	unit publicist
Ása Björg Ingimarsdóttir	....	production assistant
Llinos Wyn Jones	....	continuity
Claire Kerrison	....	production coordinator
Dan McCulloch	....	production runner
Catriona McKenzie	....	development executive
Julie Scott	....	production executive: BBC
Elín Sigurðardóttir	....	runner/assistant

Production Companies

• BBC Wales
• Tightrope Pictures (in association with)
• HBO Films (in association with)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2005) (UK) (TV)
• HBO Films (2005) (USA) (TV)
• Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (RTP) (2005) (Portugal) (TV)
• WoWow (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2005) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)

Other Companies

• ARRI Lighting Rental  lighting equipment supplied by
• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Boom  sound post-production
• Casting Collective  extras casting
• ITN Archive/Reuters  footage
• Pegasus Pictures  production services provided by
• Pepper Post Production  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A | UK:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Wales

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lawrence checks into the hotel in Reykjavik he is told by the clerk that he is in room 5021. However later when he and Gina are walking down the hotel hallway to the room they go to 5121.

Quotes:

Lawrence:We get into the habit of compromising and therefore we are always compromised.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2006) (TV)

Make Poverty History

A beautiful and moving film. I didn't know what it was about as the trailer didn't reveal much other than the relationship between Nighy and McDonald so I was thinking it was just a gentle love story, a British 'Lost in Translation'.

But what transpired was so much more than that. I thought the way the enormous issue of global poverty and the few people who hold the political power to affect change was dealt with intelligently and sensitively and interwoven poignantly with the strange romance developing between the two leads.

I'm not too familiar with the background of the film but I would hazard a guess that the seeds of the project were sown when Richard Curtis wrote 'Love Actually' which included a subplot where the British PM (Hugh Grant) publicly opposed policies brought forward by the American president (Billy Bob Thornton).

Since 'Love Actually' was a light-hearted romantic comedy, the politics were never elaborated on but I'm sure that 'The Girl in the Cafe' was the opportunity for Curtis to put this topical issue into terms that anyone could understand and empathise with. The timing, of course, is impeccable, with the G8 summit to be held in Scotland within 2 weeks and widespread attention of the summit brought to the masses by Sir Bob Geldof and the simultaneous Live 8 series of concerts.

It goes without saying that the performances of the two leads are spot-on, Bill Nighy is the king of understated pathos as Lawrence and Kelly McDonald is gracious as the mysterious but steely Gina.

The film is shot in (literally) cool locations and makes a fantastic ad for the chilled aloofness that is Reykjavik.

But at the heart of this love story are the nameless, faceless millions who suffer daily and the ease with which this fact is taken as statistic. Africa has never before been on the forefront of social issues as it is today and to anyone who might be under the impression that poverty is an issue for politicians to sort out around the conference table, 'The Girl in the Cafe' is a potent reminder that the power to affect change is more immediate than we might think. Superb.

Make Poverty History