Love Actually

[raven]

Sunday is traditionally a day for sleeping late, reading the broadsheet supplements and watching Voyager repeats on Sky One. Don't correct me, I'm not wrong. Today has been untraditional. Not in the sleeping late respect - I got up even later than usual today, because I waited up for my parents last night and they got in at two - but in other respects.

I wanted to go to the cinema today. I was going to go avec mes amies on Friday, but that came to nothing, and then I was going to go this afternoon to the Plaza, but that worked out differently from expected, too. My parents actually agreed to come with me, to start with, and I wanted to ask Becca as well, so that all worked out nicely. The plan was for Becca to get here at twenty past two on the train, and then we'd pick her off and head to Southport. That was the plan. Becca said later that she reached the station just in time to see the train pull out. She was very angry. I was less angry when I got her text, thinking that if she got the next train, we wouldn't be late. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more.

And then it dawned on me that the trains only come every half an hour on a Sunday. At that point, I got rather annoyed and stamped my feet a lot. Becca arrived in rather flustered fashion five minutes before the film was due to start. The general consensus was we should go the next show.

So we did.

I thought it was lovely. Cheesy but life-affirming. It has nine intertwining plots, which does sound silly, but they're all connected and all interesting. The theme is love (no, really) and there's so many kinds - unrequited and filial and platonic and paternal and romantic and pornographic(!)... and I really, really loved it. The narrator (Hugh Grant, who else) has a wonderful observation to make about the human race and the arrivals lounge at Heathrow, which I had noticed before and do agree with. Hugh Grant does make a perfect Prime Minister, as well. Colin Firth is in it as well, giving me shades of Bridget Jones, but his role is different, much more hapless. That particular love story has the most ambience, with a great deal said without words. In fact, each of the subplots has a certain feel to it, some lighter than others but all sweet and enjoyable to watch. I've discovered that I really, really like Alan Rickman. I maintain that he made Snape cool when Snape was never meant to be cool, but he's such a good actor and he was in In Demand, which clinches it. Pedar thinks the film was contrived. Well, of course it was. It was also Christmassy and feelgood with a note-perfect script and if it had to be contrived, they've contrived it well.

In short, a winner. Becca is already planning to get it when it comes out on DVD/video.

I'm home now, feeling rather ill. I suppose I have to go to school tomorrow but I'd really rather not. I want to stay at home and curl up somewhere reading The Last Hero. It's the perfect book to read when you're ill, gentle and funny and with beautiful full-page pictures.

But I've got to go to school. Meh.

Comments

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

Alan Rickman is truely amazing & adorable & I love him greatly & he was so brilliant in that film. I do think that Colin Firth's love relationship was the best in the film. I did think however that there were too many different relationships going on, I think there were more than 9 going on.
I am with Becca in that I am definately getting it as soon as it comes out.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I think I would have removed the one with the girl whose brother was institutionalised. I would also say the porn star one, but it was too, too funny.

Becca and I actually did count the various plots. To quote:

The Prime Minister
Alan Rickman and the necklace
Colin Firth in France
Rock star and manager
Girl with instituionalised brother
Porn stars
Unrequited love for Keira Knightley
Little boy and his stepfather
Crazy lad in Wisconsin

Are there any more?

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

I figured it was easier this way, now I'm not so sure, but anyway. A spider sort of diagram:



The lines in red are mentioned on the web site. The others are ones I've included because they kindof have some sort of relevance I think.

Oh yes, & I had to mention. I truely loved Rowan Atkinson. He was quite amusing.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, love the diagram. Love love love. You should post that on your journal.

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

I'll think about it. I'll have to find someway to fit it in.

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

Oh & I missed out a line from the president to Martine. So that's 18 different forms of love.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I thought maybe a line from the girl with brother to Alan Rickman. There's a friendship there...

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

Also from girl with necklace to Martine because they live next door.
Also, was it just me or was the stepdad talking to the wife & sister of the primeminister at the beginning on the phone?
What relationship was that? & do they deserve a line too?

& on an irrelevant note. Your userinfo. What is your name if it's not Iona?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

You're right about the PM's sister talking to the stepdad - saying "No-one's ever going to shag you if you cry!" - and I think that's an old friendship.

My name is Pragya.

[cucharita.livejournal.com]

Damn, I'll have to do some rearranging. There's no way I'm going to get a line between those two. Necklace girl gets in the way.

What does Pragya mean? & is it pronounced Prag-Ya?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It means "rich in knowledge", and the pronunciation is difficult. I loathe and hate it and will never let myself be called by it, so it's a moot point.

[psykokandy.livejournal.com]

haha! i was just doing a search for my name on livejournal, concerned if someone who knows me could find it easily, and I found this! Heh. My name's Pragya, too, and I don't find many (any) other people given the same name, so I thought I'd say hello. I used to hate it, too, but now I kind of like it. Though it'd be nicer if it didn't start with a "p," I guess..