Love Actually (2003)    Universal/Comedy-Drama    RT: 135 minutes    Rated R (sexuality, nudity, language)    Director: Richard Curtis    Screenplay: Richard Curtis    Music: Craig Armstrong    Cinematography: Michael Coulter    Release date: November 14, 2003 (US)    Cast: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, Martine McCutcheon, Sienna Guillory, Lucia Moniz, Thomas Sangster, Gregor Fisher, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, Rodrigo Santoro, Kris Marshall, Abdul Salis, Heike Makatsch, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page, Olivia Olson, Billy Bob Thornton, Rowan Atkinson, Claudia Schiffer, Nina Sosanya, Ivana Milicevic, January Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, Shannon Elizabeth, Denise Richards, Lulu Popplewell, Marcus Brigstocke.    Box Office: $59.7M (US)/$244.9M (World)

Rating: *** ½

 Everybody seems to have romance at the top of their Christmas wish lists in Love Actually, a multi-character comedy-drama in the vein of Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. With a cast composed almost entirely of British actors, the movie tells about ten different romantic stories set during the five weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Many of the characters are shown to be interlinked as the movie progresses, yet writer-director Richard Curtis (Pirate Radio) manages to keep things under control and easy for the viewer to follow.

 One of the biggest problems a movie like Love Actually faces is traffic control. Without the proper supervision, the proceedings could turn into a real mess with neither rhyme nor reason. Curtis handles the movie like a real professional and makes it something truly special. It’s really a series of short stories rather than a conventional single plotline so I’ll just briefly mention the various stories in the movie and leave it to you, the viewer, to watch it for yourself and discover the magic within.

1. David (Grant, Notting Hill), the newly elected Prime Minister of England, moves into 10 Downing Street and falls for Natalie (McCutcheon, EastEnders), a junior member of the household staff.
2. Aging rock star Billy Mack (Nighy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) records a Christmas variation of “Love Is All Around” (The Troggs) that becomes his long-awaited comeback hit. He revels in his newfound success while his longtime manager Joe (Fisher, Wild Target) watches from the sidelines.
3. Juliet (Knightley, Bend It Like Beckham) and Peter (Ejiofor, Children of Men) just got married. Everybody’s happy except for the groom’s best friend Mark (Lincoln, The Walking Dead). It seems like he doesn’t really like Juliet very much. He becomes distant and uncomfortable around her; he barely even speaks to her. Of course, the real reason behind his behavior is the last thing she expects.
4. Jamie (Firth, The King’s Speech) discovers his girlfriend (Guillory, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) has been sleeping with his brother so he retreats to his French cottage to focus on his writing. He ends up falling for Aurelia (Moniz), the Portuguese housekeeper who doesn’t understand a single word of English. He doesn’t understand Portuguese either so this relationship is complicated from the word “go”.
5. Harry (Rickman, Die Hard) and Karen (Thompson, Howards End) have been married for several years. They have two young children who are about to appear in their school’s Nativity play. Harry, who manages a design agency, finds himself attracted to his new secretary Mia (Makatsch, Resident Evil).
6. Recently widowed Daniel (Neeson, Taken) tries to help his young son Sam (Sangster, Nanny McPhee) win over the girl of his dreams, an American classmate Joanna (Olson) who’s performing a song in their school’s Christmas pageant. He encourages his son to learn to play the drums so he can accompany her on stage and find an opportunity to tell her how he feels about her.
7. Sarah (Linney, Primal Fear), a busy career woman, has been attracted to the company’s creative director Karl (Santoro, 300) for years. She’s been reluctant to act on her feelings, especially since her cell phone seems to constantly ring at the most inopportune times. It turns out there’s something in her personal life that makes it difficult to sustain any sort of romantic relationship.
8. Colin (Marshall, Death at a Funeral) has had enough of trying to hook up with British women. He decides to take a trip to the US and try his luck with American women. He believes they will love the fact that he’s British and he’ll easily find love in Milwaukee (?!).
9. John (Freeman, Shaun of the Dead) and Judy (Page, From Hell) meet while working as body doubles on the set of a major film. They hold casual conversations while completely naked and simulating sexual acts, that’s the easy part. They find it more difficult pursuing a romantic relationship as they’re both shy and tentative about it.
10. Although he doesn’t really have a story of his own, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) shows up periodically as a jewelry salesman who plays a minor role in the lives of some of the characters.

It sounds pretty complicated, but you should have no problem following Love Actually and keeping the many characters straight. It’s a wonderful and funny romantic comedy that gets a major boost from the talented all-star cast. How often does one come across a movie that brings together the best actors in British cinema? It’s unfortunate that Peter O’Toole (My Favorite Year) didn’t show up at some point. It would have completed the ensemble.

 There are still plenty of appealing performances here. I’d like to call attention to a few of them. Hugh Grant always brings something nice to the table. His self-effacing persona and penchant for clever dialogue makes him one of the better actors working in film today. He’s at his best in rom-coms like Notting Hill (1999) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Now we can add Love Actually to the list.

 This is one of Knightley’s first major movie roles. 2003 was a big year for her with Bend It Like Beckham, the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Love Actually. She proves beyond any reasonable doubt she’s a charming and capable young actress.

 In a role that has since taken on an eerie foreboding, Neeson is wonderful as a relatively young widower who tries to deal with his own feelings while feeling powerless to help Sam cope with his own problems. In real life, Neeson’s wife Natasha Richardson died after being injured in a skiing accident in ’09. That’s just too weird.

 The Jamie-Aurelia story is sweet. The idea of a love that transcends a language barrier lends a note of hope for all those who think they will never meet the right person. Speaking from personal experience, sometimes the right person lives in another part of the world, but the universe is a funny thing. Things like fate and destiny have a way of sorting themselves out.

 Nighy is hilarious as the aging British rock star whose outrageous behavior never fails to astonish his manager. It’s especially hysterical that he thinks his own record is complete rubbish. Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa) cameos as the US President who learns the new PM isn’t somebody to be taken lightly.

 Certain scenes in Love Actually really stand out and make it a Christmas movie to remember. The movie opens and closes at Heathrow Airport as David (in a voiceover) talks about the pure and uncomplicated love that people feel as they greet and welcome their arriving loved ones. The collection of shots of people embracing their loved ones is the perfect way to start this movie. It sets just the right tone. It’s also the perfect way to end the movie as it leaves the viewer with a sense of warmth, love and joy.

 After Peter and Juliet get married, Mark has arranged a special surprise for them as they exit the church. A choir appears in the balcony and bursts into a joyous rendition of “All You Need Is Love”. As the song progresses, musicians rise from the pews playing their instruments. I’m a real sucker for musical numbers in movies, especially the impromptu kind. This one is positively delightful!

 Emma Thompson has a powerful scene where she discovers her husband’s affair. She excuses herself for a moment and goes to the bedroom where she quietly sobs while the rest of the family gets ready for the play. There’s also a lovely scene between Mark and Juliet that says a lot with absolutely no spoken dialogue.

 It would take way too long to list all of the great scenes in this movie so let me just say that Love Actually is full of great moments, some of them funny and some dramatic. Curtis finds the perfect balance and maintains it throughout the movie. What more can you ask? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll believe in the magic of the Christmas season.