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"The" Holidays. Family. Close friends. The end of one
year and the beginning of a new one. A time when one’s heart
may be at its most vulnerable—either fully open to the warmth
of all the love that the season can imply, or, perhaps, fully
susceptible to the loneliness that can seem almost unbearable
in the longing for family, a significant other, health, or peace
of mind.
Traditionally, Hollywood has embraced this Season with films
that touch the beauty within the soul of humanity, the best known
and most enduring example being perhaps IT’S A WONDERFUL
LIFE which always plays innumerable times during this season (and
in which I get lost each and every time I happen to flip to it
when it’s on—I’m always hooked!!).
Now, with little fanfare, a new film has arisen which may, in
years to come, take its place as a classic Holiday film---LOVE,
ACTUALLY is, "actually", that wonderful, and it couldn’t
arrive at a more propitious moment. Unfortunately, cynicism and
the darker side of life have so permeated the corridors of Hollywood
that the so-called "critic’s" darlings of this
Season so far have mostly been films like MYSTIC RIVER, THE MISSING,
and 21 GRAMS, all of which "celebrate" the darker side
of humanity. LOVE, ACTUALLY is the antidote to all that darkness
and it is a pleasure to be able to luxuriate in its dizzying and
intoxicating recipe for joy, laughter, pathos, and life (and I
also have high hopes for other films coming up like BIG FISH,
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, and MONA LISA SMILES—but…we’ll
see..).
LOVE, ACTUALLY begins with a sequence at Heathrow Airport in
London where the joyful greetings of families and loved ones is
observed with a wonderful voiceover that puts the film itself
in early perspective. Even with all the anger and hate that is
blared at us in our every day world, Writer/Director Richard Curtis
(FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, NOTTING HILL, BRIDGET JONES DIARY)
poignantly observes that, "even after the planes hit the
twin towers", the messages from people who were on those
planes were not those of hate or revenge but rather that "love
is, actually, all round us."
The film itself is a compendium of nine mostly-interlocking stories
that illuminate the myriad faces of love:
- A newlywed couple and a best man who seems to be in love with
one of the newlyweds himself—but which one?
- A man who finds his girlfriend in a tryst with his brother travels
to France and finds a new love---even though he speaks only English
and she only Portuguese.
- An aging rock star (a hilarious Academy Award-worthy performance
by Bill Nighy) attempts a comeback with a lame Christmas song
and a beleaguered manager.
- An oversexed and wildly exuberant young man decides that he
must go to America to find sex—because the woman there will
be seduced by his accent!
- The new Prime Minister of England (Hugh Grant-who else?) meets
someone on his staff on his first day on the job and becomes enchanted
with her.
- A widower struggles to help himself and his stepson cope with
their new situation in life---and also help the boy through his
first encounter with love for a schoolmate.
- A woman is hopelessly in love with a co-worker but torn because
of her devotion to her mentally ill brother.
- A couple meets while they are working as stand-ins on a sexually-themed
film and must simulate certain very intimate acts for the camera
and lighting crew of a film while actually trying to meet each
other as human beings.
- A middle-aged couple faces the careless flirtation of the husband
with a zealous employee while the wife (luminously and poignantly
portrayed by the inestimable Emma Thompson, returning to movies
from way too long an absence) struggles to maintain her dignity
(she succeeds!)
On the surface, these many storylines may seem unwieldy but they
most assuredly are not. In fact, they blend together almost seamlessly
into an engrossing, hilarious, often poignant and very human dramatic
comedy. As you might have guessed from the storylines, the film
very definitely is R-rated, for tasteful and often hilarious sexuality.
I saw it with 3 of my 4 daughters, all of whom-including my youngest
(17)- absolutely loved it.
There have been so few films this year that you walk out of feeling
happy and proud to simply be a human being (WHALE RIDER being
at the top of my own list) that LOVE, ACTUALLY comes along in
this particular season as a welcome and refreshing reminder of
the beauty of our humanity…. that, above all the strife and
challenges that confront us, we have this unique and endless capacity
to consciously immerse ourselves in the experience of love—for
one another, and for ourselves. I believe that you will walk out
of the theater smiling. And I wish you and your friends the happiest
of Holidays.
MovieMystic Chakra Rating for LOVE, ACTUALLY (For an explanation
of THE CHAKRA RATING SYSTEM, please visit www.Movingmessagesmedia.com)
Chakra: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rating: 4 4 3 4 4 3 5
Rating 5 4 4 5 4 4 5
Stephen Simon has produced such films as Somewhere
in Time and What Dreams May Come. He is currently producing INDIGO
(www.Indigothemovie.com). His book The Force is With You: Mystical
Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives, published by Walsh Books/Hampton
Roads, is now available. Stephen also leads seminars, telecourses,
and inspirational Mystical Movie events around the world. For
more information, please visit www.Mysticalmovies.com . Stephen
welcomes your comments by email: Stephen @MysticalMovies.com
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