William: “It's as if I've taken love
heroin, and now I can't ever have it again.”
Recently I found
myself watching a much-overlooked 2013 film called About Time, which was written and directed by Richard Curtis.
Curtis famously wrote Four Weddings and a
Funeral (1994), Love Actually
(2003, which he also directed), Pirate
Radio (2009), as well as Notting Hill.
After finishing About Time, which
ended up being one of the better flicks that I’ve seen recently, I felt the
overwhelming urge to return to some of Curtis’ earlier work, which of course
began with my return to a favorite romantic comedy of mine, Notting Hill. While on the surface
Curtis’ film from the late nineties starring rom-com staples Julia Roberts and
Hugh Grant seems as if it would be just another throwaway popcorn film from an
era littered with such entertainment, Curtis successfully elevates the genre
through fantastic dialog, performances, and the twists and turns of an almost Shakespearean
narrative.
The
story follows the relationship between William Thacker (Grant), the owner of a
Travel Bookstore (not a Traveling book store, a Bookstore that only sells
travel books), and Anna Scott (Roberts), the movie star who William randomly
spills juice upon. After an initial fumbled first encounter and a few
quick-witted flirtations, Scott decides to explore the potential of being with
a mostly normal guy. Asking if he would like to go on a date, Scott ends up
accompanying William to his sister’s birthday party, which is only awkward for
a brief moment before everyone just accepts her for who she is and the two have
an amazing first date. Upon returning to Scott’s hotel, they find her famous
movie star boyfriend waiting for them to foil their date. This is merely the
beginning of the rollercoaster of a Shakespearean comedy. Time passes and the
two continue to bump into each other, both by happenstance and design, and
share a number of moments, always having those moments dashed by reality. While
both of them try to move past their mutual attraction, they seem to be drawn to
each other in an odd way, but will they ever truly find each other?
While
the plot is reasonably simple, the charm of this film, as with most all of
Richard Curtis’ films, is in the dialog and the way that he is able to create
an immersive world, brilliantly transporting the audience through a narrative
that stunningly reflects the complexity of life. Every aspect of Notting Hill has been perfectly crafted
in order to create this narrative, and while the direction and cinematography
tends toward a more basic and restrained style, that only allows the dialog,
narrative flow, and the performances from Grant, Roberts, and the entire
supporting cast to shine through, producing a film that begs for repeated
viewings. I saw the film shortly after it was released in 1999, and have since
found myself drawn back to Notting Hill,
usually annually.
In
the end, the real reason that I wish to turn you onto this movie is the fact
that it a perfectly successful romantic comedy, which in my experience (yeah,
I’ve watched hundreds of bad rom-coms) is rare and should be celebrated! The
performances are charming, the dialog is witty and engaging, and the story is
enchanting. Oh, and I’ve gotten this far into this review and forgotten to say
that it is hilarious! So, if you’re
looking to sit back, relax, and enjoy a killer love story that will have you
uncontrollably smiling ear-to-ear throughout, then this is the perfect movie
for you to take home today!
-
Edward Hill
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