LOVE ACTUALLY - Blu-ray review

I am surprised at how many solid actors and familiar faces are part of the ensemble cast and somewhat surprised that I somehow missed this little gem of a romantic comedy. "Love Actually" is an entertaining picture which is best described as the "Crash" of romantic comedies as the film takes a look at many smaller stories that eventually build up to one larger story where a multitude of lives are interconnected through in one brief moment of time. In the case of "Love Actually," that moment of time is the arrival gate at Heathrow Airport. Featuring an all-star cast of British actors, this Richard Curtis picture should give fans of the writer/director a story which the heart of his former beloved films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." Curtis' favorite star Hugh Grant is onboard and joined by a cast that includes Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Laura Linney as well as numerous others.

The story begins five weeks before Christmas and the narration is handled by Hugh Grant who stars as newly elected British Prime Minister David. He discusses love and the critical attitude some people have towards the emotion but points out that love is actually everywhere and this is quite apparent whenever he is at the Heathrow Airport arrival gate. An odd little mention of the 9/11 accident is mentioned by Grant, but this very beginning monologue sets the tone for the films fantastically handled ending that wraps up all of the smaller "love" stories in a meeting of characters at Heathrow Airport. The film slowly moves forward and introduces many of the other characters briefly in a series of very quick scenes that are anchored by the fictional music of a rehashed hit song from former rocker Billy Mack who is portrayed beautifully by the great Bill Nighy.

Billy and his manager Joe (Gregor Fisher) are the first two people introduced after Hugh's monologue and they have a long friendship through business and it isn't until the end of "Love Actually" that Billy realizes how much his longtime manager means to him and that he would rather spend time with Joe than anybody else. Nighy is an underappreciated character actor who has been behind latex and makeup for his larger roles, but this British veteran is perfection as the aging rocker who is far too honest as far as his manager is concerned. Out of all of the performances in the film, Nighy's stands out as being the most ‘honest' performance in the film and he is very convincing as he sings and acts his way as an aging rocker who knows his best days are in the past and the only way he can now succeed is to be a mockery of his former self.

The second introduction involves the widowed Daniel (Liam Neeson) and his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster). This story was sadder than intended due to Liam losing his wife Natasha Richardson in the past year. They have a good friendship, but their family relationship grows stronger as Sam gets Daniels help in winning the heart of his schoolmate Joanna (Olivia Olsen). In the end, Daniel finds new love, but he spends much of his time being lonely and in loss and trying to be a father for young Sam. Neeson is more of a supporting actor in this film, but he is great as usual. I was very impressed with young Thomas Sangster and his wide eyed display of schoolyard love. It's unfortunate that Neeson suffered the loss he did and it is quite haunting to watch his performance in this film. I was in New York City during the death of Richardson and was amazed at how the city mourned her loss.

The next love story is a love triangle that involves Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his new young wife Juliet (Keira Knightley). The third member is Peter's best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) who has never shown much interest towards Juliet, but holds a secret and deep love for his friend's new wife. Ejiofor is a familiar face and I enjoyed his previous work in "Talk to Me" and "American Gangster." Knightley is a beautiful young lady and is said to be "perfect" in this film and the way the characters of Peter and Juliet acted on their feelings was unique and showed an appreciation for love over lust. Ejiofor is given far less screen time than Knightley or Lincoln and while this was one of the minor stories, it was nicely done.

The next love story involves loss and the discovery of new love. Veteran actor Colin Firth portrays slow typing writer Jamie and he discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him with his brother. He leaves Britain to work on a novel at his summer home in France where he is introduced to Portuguese housekeeper Aurelia (Lucia Moniz). While he is heartbroken and he and Aurelia cannot speak to each other due to each having a language barrier problem, they find a common liking for each other. They are separated, but eventually Jamie realizes that the young and thin Aurelia is the girl that he wants and while they were unable to realize how much they meant to each other formerly, both Jamie and Aurelia take lessons in the others language before they are reunited. Both actors are lighthearted in their roles.

Veteran actor Alan Rickman died at the end of "Die Hard," but he is very much alive and portrays Harry, the director of a marketing and design agency. His secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch) is very open that she has a crush on her boss and wants to engage in sexual relationships with him, but he is happily married to Prime Minister David's sister Karen (Emma Thompson). They have two children and Karen is trying to get her children ready for their school's Christmas pageant. Rickman is such a good actor that he is an asset to any film in which he appears and this is no exception. Thompson is a talented actress and holds her own against Rickman. This relationship has Rickman almost fall prey to the amazingly sexy Mia, but in the long run he realizes his wife and children are where he is happiest. This serves as a pivot point for many of the stories in the film. Rowan Atkinson has a cameo role selling Harry a necklace that he gives to Mia. Atkinson is always funny and Curtis had directed him as Mr. Bean.

One of Harry's employees is Sarah (Laura Linney). Linney is a beautiful woman and portrays a businesswoman who doesn't have the highest self esteem and tries to balance her life with taking care of her mentally handicapped brother Michael (Michael Fitzgerald). She has fallen for her younger and very handsome coworker Carl (Rodrigo Santoro) and everybody in the office including Carl knows how strongly she feels for him. Harry tells her to act on her feelings and at one point she has an opportunity to make love to the man she has fallen for, but her love for her brother stops her. Linney is perfect as a women who doesn't realize her own beauty and while Fitzgerald and Santoro have bit parts in their film, they help Linney succeed in her performance.

The next major love story involves David and Natalie (Matine McCutcheon). David is the newly elected Prime Minister and becomes a national hero when he stands tall against the American President (Billy Bob Thornton). He instantly finds an attraction to the younger Natalie, but realizes he cannot have a romantic relationship with a houseworker as she is one of his employees. This ends when he catches her in an awkward moment with the President and while this first pushes Natalie away from him, it opens the doors to love for the mouthy and hippy, but attractive young lady. I love Hugh Grant as an actor and enjoyed him in the old Mirimax films when he was the top British actor in romantic comedies. Watching him dance around to the old Pointer Sisters song "Jump" was a classic moment. Grant is masterful and McCutcheon is a convincing love interest. If I had to imagine Billy Bob Thornton as the President, he is exactly as what he portrays in the film. Wonderful.

There are some minor other love stories that are all fun, but not as important to the overall story of the film. They serve to add more weight to the final mass meeting at Heathrow and do take a chunk of time for the film, but in the grand scheme of things they are lesser stories. The first involves horny Brit Colin (Kris Marshall) and how he cannot find love in his home country. He decides to travel to Wisconsin and there meets three very lovely ladies in a dive bar in Milwaukee. The women are Carol (Elisha Cuthbert), Stacy (Ivana Milicevic) and Jeannie (January Jones). In the end he brings their "sexy one" friend Harriet (Shannon Elizabeth) home with him and her sister Carla (Denise Richards) to meet his friend Tony (Abdul Salis). Another minor story involves innocent John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page). They are working as stand-ins for an adult film and find themselves working together in the nude and falling in love. While they must "fake" numerous sexual acts, they talk about very casual things and find love.

Having already discussed the actors and actresses above, "Love Actually" is a well acted film and a very nicely told ensemble story that has a structure similar to the Oscar winning "Crash." Richard Curtis is a master of British humor and has already told a few wonderful romantic comedy stories. I loved "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and while I detest Julia Roberts, thought "Notting Hill" was marvelous. "Love Actually" may very well be Curtis' finest picture and it's a shame it took me over six years to finally watch the film. It isn't every day that such a large cast of talented actors get together for a relatively small film and each small story is marvelously told and spins a large web that winds together intricately. While Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy seem to be focal characters, everybody is given their fair share and while the picture is a lengthy 135 minutes, I'm surprised everybody has so much screen time.

With so many characters, a story that has little connections that can easily be missed and a time line that unfolds over five weeks before Christmas, "Love Actually" is a deeper story that it would seem. It isn't hard to keep everything straight and every small bit of the greater story is meaningful and very nicely told. Curtis has written another gem and "Love Actually" is a film that I have absolutely no problem giving high praise. It features Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman in very good performances and a number of other great stars. With Christmas just over five weeks away, right now isn't a bad time of year to watch this film and enjoy it. It's deep. It's well acted. It's a well told story. "Love Actually" isn't a perfect film as it sometimes feels hurried, but its well above average.

Video:

"Love Actually" is not a brand new film, but at six years old there is no reason for the 2.35:1 framed picture to not look quite dapper. The clean and stable looking image is detailed and colorful and while I would have liked to have seen a few more decadent Christmas lights, "Love Actually" is a very cheerful looking title. The colorful outfits worn by Bill Nighy and his naughty Santa's helpers are the high points of the transfer and look quite stunning. I found detail not the strongest in close-ups, but one has to guess the filmmakers wanted the older actors to look as good as possible. The image was impeccably clear in resolution and showed no ill effects of the digital mastering and its mastering for 1080p resolution. Black levels were good and aside from not being the absolute sharpest that Blu-ray has to offer, I had little complaint against the disc's visuals.

Audio:

Audio is handled by an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is again clear and stable. Sound comes from all directions, but admittedly, "Love Actually" is front heavy. And I don't mean in the way that Nighy's Santa's helpers were front heavy. Music is an important part of the film and the licensed music as well as the performances by Bill Nighy and young singer Olivia Olsen sound superb. The score by Craig Armstrong is also solid and his interpretation Christmas has "Love Actually" rivaling "Home Alone 2" as one of the top holiday-themed comedies when it comes to music. There is some surround coding to the mix, but for the most part the .1 LFE channel and rear speakers are not given much to do during the film beyond music and some environmental noise. Being dominated by dialogue, the spoken word of "Love Actually" is pristine and I've always loved the British accent, so clean dialogue is a plus.

Extras:

This Universal title is not a full featured special edition, but the Blu-ray does feature a few good special items to make this a more pleasant gift. Most of the features are standalone and aside from the portal to the BD-Live Center to view promo clips for Universal pictures, the Blu-ray technology isn't pushed. The ensemble Feature Commentary with Director Richard Curtis and Actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangster is certainly worth a listen as the friendship between Curtis and Grant is apparent and this was recorded in Soho and began while Grant was stuck in traffic. Sangster is almost a color commentator at times, but I thought it was very cool to have the young child actor involved in the bonus features. The track actually starts off slowly until Grant arrives, but everybody enjoys themselves and some good little stories are told.

The Deleted Scenes with Introduction by Richard Curtis (37:16) has the writer/director discuss how eighty minutes of film had to be removed and some of the things he really wanted to be part of the film are included here. I wish the scenes could be selected separately as they are chunked together. The best parts are thrown in the beginning and involve more of young Thomas Sangster and Liam Neeson. Nearly a third of the footage is Sangster and Neeson. The remaining scenes are single scenes from each love story that were pruned to slim the picture for theatrical release. Each scene is given explanation by Curtis. I enjoyed the removed bits for the film.

The remaining items aren't as impressive as the commentary or deleted scenes, but are still worth a quick look. The Music of Love Actually with Introductions by Richard Curtis (18:02) is a title card for each song and then a brief discussion by Curtis about the song. The clip of the film showing the song is then played. Five songs and their scenes are included here. The Storytellers (9:58) is the promotional clip used to promote the Working Title produced film. It is decent as far as promotional items go. Two music videos are also included. Kelly Clarkson "The Trouble with Love Is" Music Video (3:48) and Billy Mack "Christmas All Around" Music Video (4:13). I don't particularly care for Clarkson, but her song is a good one. Watching the entirety of Nighy's song is too much fun to pass up and I'm very happy they included the sexy Yuletide song here. Nighy is genius.

Closing:

There are a billion stars in the sky and "Love Actually" may not have that many stars, but this ensemble piece is a literal who's who of British actors. Starring Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Liam Neeson, this Richard Curtis collection of stories helps show that love is actually everywhere and has many forms. While this is a romantic comedy, "Love Actually" tells a lesson on humanity and uses the arrival gates at Heathrow Airport as a wonderful example of how many people's lives are intertwined. This is a beautifully acted film and a well told story. The Blu-ray has a few very nice supplements and while the film is not reference material, it is technically sound. With Christmas just over five weeks away, that gives plenty of time to watch this film about the weeks before Christmas and love. You can also watch Bill Nighy put in a perfect performance.