Written by Melissa Allen, who you can follow on Twitter at @melissajournal
Love Actually is perhaps one of the greatest Christmas films and rom-coms rolled into one. This movie may be the most endearing and warm offering of the festive season; it's one to watch while you settle down on the couch with a hot chocolate and nothing but the Christmas decorations on in the background.
Film of the Week on Female First
This exceptionally magical film follows the stories of many different characters, played by a hugely star-studded cast, with A-listers such as Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman and many more. We follow these characters through the month of December as some of them fall in love, some fall out of love, some suffer with unrequited love, and some simply just enjoy love.
Part of why this movie is such a success is its relatability. It tackles every kind of love there is, like your love for your family; the love that children feel and; that ‘new romance’ kind of love.
Rom-coms may seem full of ‘mushy stuff’ but this film is not that – Love Actually, while displaying every wonderful kind of love there is, focuses on the realistic ways people experience love; one exception may be Colin (Kris Marshall) who simply seeks the adventurous kind of love…
Moving between several storylines may seem ridiculous and even difficult to follow, but the film separates them so beautifully and they flow so well together, it is just wonderful to watch.
Each character has a purpose and a feeling to put forward, and the ending for each of them feels believable – except that we have never forgiven Rickman for buying a gold necklace for his secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch) and not his lovable wife Karen (played by Thompson)...
The ending to this film is a thing of absolute beauty as almost every single character is in the final scene – together. They all have someone or something bringing them to the school play and everyone seems to know everyone else, brothers and sisters are revealed and the beauty of watching these characters all come together is something to really fall in love with.
If you're struggling for something to watch this festive season, get on Love Actually!
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