Love Actually is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous projects. An international co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it was mostly filmed on location in London. The film delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are interlinked as the plot progresses. The story begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place in the New Year.
The film, Curtis's first as director, was released in the US on 14 November 2003 and a week later in the UK during its theatrical run. Love Actually was a box-office success, grossing $252.6million worldwide on a budget of $40–45million. The film received mixed reviews and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It later developed a cult following, and is often a staple film shown during the Christmas period in both the United Kingdom and United States. A made-for-television short sequel, Red Nose Day Actually, aired in two different versions on BBC One and NBC in 2017, as part of the fundraising event Red Nose Day 2017.
Plot David, the British Prime Minister, reflects that despite global conflict and tragedy, love can often be seen in everyday life, recalling scenes of affection at the arrivals gate of London Heathrow Airport. The film then follows several interconnected stories about love in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Aging rock star Billy Mack records a novelty Christmas version of the song "Love Is All Around" with the help of his long-time manager Joe. Although he openly mocks the single during promotional appearances, the song unexpectedly becomes the UK's Christmas number-one. On Christmas Day, Billy realises that Joe has been the most important person in his life and chooses to spend the holiday celebrating quietly with him instead of attending a celebrity party.
Juliet and Peter have a joyous wedding organised by Peter's best friend Mark, who acts aloofly towards Juliet. Later, when Juliet forces Mark to show her the wedding video he made, she realises it focuses almost entirely on her. Later, Mark knocks on her door and, telling her he knows he will get nothing in return, confesses his feelings silently through a display of cue cards. Juliet shows her appreciation by kissing him briefly and returns to her husband. Mark tells himself that he can now move forward.
Writer Jamie discovers that his girlfriend is having an affair with his brother. Heartbroken, he retreats to a cottage in France, where he develops a bond with his Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia despite their inability to speak the other's language. Months later Jamie returns to propose to her, speaking halting Portuguese; Aurélia accepts in broken English, revealing she has also been learning his language "just in cases."
Harry, the managing director of a design firm, is married to Karen, with whom he has two children. His flirtatious secretary Mia encourages his attention and hints she wants a special Christmas gift. Karen later finds evidence suggesting Harry bought Mia an expensive necklace, which devastates her and forces Harry to confront the damage his behaviour has caused to their marriage.
Karen's brother David, the newly elected Prime Minister, is attracted to Natalie, a junior member of his household staff, on first sight. After witnessing the visiting US president behave inappropriately toward her, David distances himself from Natalie. On Christmas Eve, however, he realises his feelings and searches for her door-to-door in her neighbourhood. They reunite during a school nativity play and publicly reveal their relationship.
Daniel, recently widowed, struggles to support his stepson Sam in their shared grief. Sam reveals that he is infatuated with an American classmate named Joanna and resolves to win her attention by learning the drums for the school's Christmas concert. Encouraged by Daniel, Sam later rushes to Heathrow Airport to confess his feelings before she returns to the United States.
At Harry's company, Sarah quietly longs for her colleague Karl. Their relationship begins to develop, but Sarah repeatedly interrupts their attempts at intimacy to answer phone calls from her institutionalised brother Michael, for whom she feels responsible. Ultimately, her devotion to caring for him prevents the relationship from progressing.
Elsewhere, a shy romance develops between John and Judy, two film stand-ins who simulate sex scenes professionally but struggle with intimacy in their personal lives. Meanwhile, Colin, frustrated with his lack of romantic success in Britain, travels to the United States convinced his accent will make him appealing, and finds enthusiastic attention from several American women.
A month later, the characters' stories converge at Heathrow Airport, where several of them reunite with loved ones as Billy Mack appears on the airport TV screens accepting his prize with a big reveal.
Cast
Production Development
Initially, Curtis started writing with two distinct and separate films in mind, each featuring expanded versions of what would eventually become storylines in Love Actually: those featuring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. He changed tack and became frustrated with the process. Partly inspired by the films of Robert Altman as well as films such as Pulp Fiction, and inspired by Curtis having become "more interested in writing a film about love and what love sort of means" he had the idea of creating an ensemble film. The film initially did not have any sort of Christmas theme, although Curtis's penchant for such films eventually caused him to write it as one.
Curtis's original concept for the film included fourteen different scenarios, but four of them were cut (two having been filmed). The scene in which Colin attempts to chat up the female caterer at the wedding appeared in drafts of the screenplay for Four Weddings and a Funeral, but was cut from the final version.Love Actually audio commentary The music video for Billy Mack's song, "Christmas Is All Around", is a tribute to Robert Palmer's 1986 video, "Addicted to Love". Curtis has spoken negatively about the editing process for the film, which he labelled in 2014 as a "catastrophe" and "the only nightmare scenario that I've been caught in". The film was rushed in order to be ready for the 2003 Christmas season which he likened to "three-dimensional chess". For the scene in which Rowan Atkinson's character Rufus annoys Harry, Alan Rickman's reaction was reportedly genuine, having been "driven insane" by the time constraints. Hugh Grant disliked filming the dance scene as he called it "excruciating" and "absolute hell". In a 2023 interview, Curtis would later call the card scene "a bit weird".
Casting Ant & Dec played themselves in the film with Nighy's character referring to Dec as "Ant or Dec". This refers to the common mistaking of one for the other, owing to their constant joint professional presence as a comedy and presenting duo. The veteran actress Jeanne Moreau is seen briefly, entering a taxi at the Marseille Airport. The soul singer Ruby Turner appears as Joanna's mother, one of the backing singers at the school Christmas pageant. Helder Costa plays Mr Barros, Aurelia's father. He is a veteran actor in Portuguese cinema. Thompson used the experience of her own marriage breaking up for the role of Karen. Joe Alwyn auditioned for the role of Sam; Alwyn read scenes with Grant and Curtis.
Curtis cast his mother-in-law, actress Jill Freud, as the Prime Minister's cleaner. Curtis cast his daughter Scarlett in the film; she was given the choice of being an angel or a lobster, and played the part of Lobster number 2 in the nativity play, on the condition that she meet Keira Knightley."Keira Knightkey opens up about her battle with PTSD and talks new film Colette". The Times. . Retrieved 12 August 2019 Curtis originally had two actors in mind for the part of Mack, but he could not decide and then told casting director Mary Selway to find someone who would do the part well but whom he would never think to cast; she suggested Nighy.
Locations Most of the film was made on location in London, including Heathrow Airport, Trafalgar Square, the central court of Somerset House in the Strand, Grosvenor Chapel on South Audley Street near Hyde Park, St Paul's Church, Clapham, the Millennium Bridge, Selfridges department store on Oxford Street, Lambeth Bridge, the Tate Modern in the former Bankside Power Station, Canary Wharf, Marble Arch, St. Luke's Mews off All Saint's Road in Notting Hill, Chelsea Bridge, the OXO Tower, London City Hall, Poplar Road in Herne Hill, Elliott School in Pullman Gardens, Putney, and Marseille Airport. Scenes set in 10 Downing Street were filmed at Shepperton Studios.
Standing up to the US president Following Tony Blair's resignation as Prime Minister, pundits and speculators commented on a potential anti-American shift in Gordon Brown's cabinet as a "Love Actually moment", referring to the scene in which Hugh Grant's character stands up to the US president.
In 2009, during President Barack Obama's first visit to the UK, American political commentator Chris Matthews referred to the president in Love Actually as an example of George W. Bush and other former presidents' bullying of European allies. Commenting on this, Mediaite's Jon Bershad described the U.S. president character as a "sleazy Bill Clinton/George W. Bush hybrid".
In the scene in question, the swaggering president bullies the prime minister and then sexually harasses a member of the household staff. In September 2013, David Cameron made a speech in reply to Russia's comment that Britain was "a small island no one listens to", which drew comparisons with Hugh Grant's speech during the film.
Cut storyline One storyline consisting of two scenes, featuring the only gay love story, was cut and not included. In the first scene, Anne Reid, as the headmistress of Karen's children's school, is revealed to be going home to her terminally ill partner, Geraldine, played by Frances de la Tour. In the second scene, while speaking at the Christmas concert, Karen acknowledges Geraldine's recent death. Curtis said he regretted losing this storyline.
Music
The UK and US versions of the film contain two instances of alternative music. In the UK cut, the montage leading up to and continuing through the first part of the office party is set to the song "Too Lost in You", by the British group Sugababes. In the US version of the film, this song is replaced with "The Trouble with Love Is", performed by the American singer Kelly Clarkson. Subsequently, in the UK version's end credit roll, the second song is a cover of "Jump (For My Love)" performed by Girls Aloud; in the US version, this song is replaced with "Too Lost in You".
Several songs were heard in the film but did not appear on either soundtrack: "Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" performed by Bay City Rollers "Puppy Love" performed by S Club Juniors "All I Want for Christmas Is You" performed by Tessa Niles "River" performed by Joni Mitchell "Rose" from the Titanic score, written by James Horner "Like I Love You" performed by Justin Timberlake "All Alone on Christmas" performed by Darlene Love "Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas "Silent Night" performed by Pre Teens "Good King Wenceslas" performed by Hugh Grant (as David) and Andrew Tinkler (as Gavin) "Catch a Falling Star" performed by child cast
Reception Box office