Love Surrounds Christmas in Love, Actually

It's the Holiday season once again, and I have been watching a bunch of Holiday-themed movies. The holidays for me are the best time to cuddle up in a blanket and watch movies with the fam. My favorite comfort movie during this season is Love, Actually, the movie that, perhaps, sparked the trend of Holiday omnibuses.

Love Actually is a feel-good Christmas-themed film released in 2003 that weaves together stories of love weeks before Christmas. The movie straddles across nine storylines. Yes, that was quite a lot of plot for a two-hour movie. It can get a little overwhelming with the myriad stories you need to follow but each story gets sufficient time in the spotlight to get to know the characters and feel their story.

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Without doubt, the movie was well-acted. Why wouldn’t it be? It stars Britain’s veterans including Alan Rickman, Dame Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney and many more. We also see an adorable performance from a young Thomas Sangster. It felt like they tried to put most of the British actors we know and love in one movie.

The creators of the movie also did a good job in building a heartwarming atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Holidays. We get a lot of homey music and punchy Christmas songs. The opening song alone made me feel like Christmas is here (yup, it's the lyrics written above). The brick-walled houses and brick pavements in London were very Christmas-y. I don’t know but Harry Potter may have wired my brain to associate bricks and British accents with Christmas. Lastly, the emotionally-stirring scenes of love were something I’d want to watch over and over during a cold December night. Every time I watch it, Love, Actually always feel like warm cocoa made by my grandmother.

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The movie, in a voiceover from Hugh Grant, argues that love is ubiquitous. He says, “If you look for it, I have a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around”. And it truly is. Be it romantic love, filial love or even love between long-term friends. The movie featured very well how the characters find, strengthen or even conceal these types of love.

During my latest re-watch, my favorite storylines were actually the non-romantic setups. Billy Mac’s (Bill Nighy) story, an aged rock star bidding for the number 1 Christmas song while badmouthing cheekily his manager Joe (Gregor Fisher), melts all sorts of butter. Daniel (Liam Neeson) trying to help his prepubescent step-son (Thomas Sangster) win his crush’s heart was very endearing. Those talks about love between father and son were nothing short of gold. I also loved Harry’s (Alan Rickman) and Karen’s (Emma Thompson) story wherein Harry tried to fight the temptation of a younger woman. I know it got a lot of hate but Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman did a good job in showing the intricacies of married life.

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When I was younger, my favorite storylines were Hugh Grant’s as well as Keira Knightley’s. The prime minister (Hugh Grant) finding his cheeky secretary irresistible was classic rom-com material and a man who fell in love with his bestfriend’s bride just stirred all sorts of emotions from my teenage heart. Who wouldn’t get touched by this?

SPOILERS ALERT!
As the movie went on, we see that the characters are somehow related to each other. The characters chose who to spend Christmas with and it’s with the people they love. The movie ends with a scene a year after wherein a handful of characters embraced their loved ones as they went home for Christmas. Love, Actually shows that Christmas isn't only the season of giving, it's also the season of love.

Christmas is the time to be with the people you love - Billy Mac

Christmas has already passed but the Holiday spirit still looms on. If you’re in for a heartwarming Holiday movie filled with love stories and injected with British wit and humor, you may want to try Love, Actually.