Love Actually: “I really don’t know love at all.”
It is no mystery why Richard Curtis’ romantic comedies are among the most enduringly loved films in the genre (although the last sequence from About Time seriously needs come with a health warning – the thing has the power to turn grown men into weeping three year olds, quite possibly irreparably); flawless scripting, relatable stories, a reliable bank of actors to produce the equally reliable characterization, and all shot effortlessly through with a dose of good old English awkwardness, Curtis’s films are basically a British institution.
This is how Love Actually so quickly became timeless (and how it has levered its way into that category of films that tell us that Christmas is well and truly here. From about mid-October onwards); following several distinct but vaguely interlinking storylines, Curtis has more opportunity in this movie than ever before to explore the various ins and outs of the infinite weirdness of human love, an opportunity that he doesn’t waste in any of the scenarios. But for some of the most powerful moments, Curtis is wisely selective.
Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) are the more mature couple, their relationship a long established marriage, complete with children. Which is why, when Karen accidentally discovers that a gift she had thought was intended for her must have gone to another woman, the betrayal and the pain feel all the more profound. And yet all Karen’s reaction amounts to is a few minutes of private stifled tears in the bedroom, the lonely strains of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now the sadly reflective soundtrack.
The power of Karen’s discreet response is in the fact that she simply mustkeep herself together; she is a mother and a wife and this is Christmas – there are plays to be attended, halls to be decked, smiles to be smiled. With Emma Thompsons’ admirable balancing of Karen’s deep hurt alongside her determination to play her role regardless, this is one of the most realistic and heart-breaking scenes in all of Curtis’ films.