The Girl in the Café (2005)

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.

Director:

David Yates

Writer:

Richard Curtis

Stars:

Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald, Meneka Das

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Lawrence is a reserved civil servant who has worked for the British government for years. When he meets the much younger Gina in a café, he is immediately smitten. Feeling uncharacteristically impetuous, Lawrence invites her to join him on a business trip to Reykjavik for the G-8 summit. Gina, not one to hold her thoughts back, surprises Lawrence with her blunt political opinions, and he must balance his affection for her with the propriety of his position.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | red panties | panties | sex | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK] HBO [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

25 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Girl in the Café

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales, Tightrope Pictures, HBO Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

G8 Summits are only held in the G8 nations - Canada, the US, Japan, Russia, Germany, Italy, France and Britain. A summit would not be meeting in Iceland.

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Quotes

Lawrence: Some of the dullest people in the world are in this room. There are gold medalists in the Boredom Olympics here. Anything you say will be more interesting than anything they've ever said.

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Crazy Credits

Quote at the end of the movie: "Sometime it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation." Nelson Mandela, 2005

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Connections

Featured in The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

Cold Water
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Damien Rice
[heard at beginning and over end credits]

User Reviews

Tender movie both funny and stirring in that it has a good message.

This was a delightful movie. The cinematography was excellent as was the acting by Bill Nighy. It is a tender story with a message. Enjoyed the scenery as well as the characterizations. We stumbled on it on HBO and hope that it will receive a wider audience than just television. It is very timely. I enjoy Bill Nighy; have seen him in other movies but especially remember him in Love, Actually. Gina was also delightful and her last line "does it matter?" was very powerful. All of the G8 group who appeared to be interested in doing good were conflicted especially the Americans. Real problems are mentioned here and that is always a positive.