Notting Hill: A Love That Comes From Notting

Notting Hill is a 23-year-old romantic comedy film written by Richard Curtis (a well-known writer of romantic comedies like Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral) and directed by Roger Michell (an accomplished theater director and filmmaker who made Notting Hill a blockbuster). The release date of the movie was in the year 1999. This was a story of a boy who runs a travel bookstore meeting a girl who is a famous movie star.

In brief, the movie starts with William Thacker (Hugh Grant) narrating his way of life. It was just a normal day until an unexpected visitor came to visit the bookstore. He could not believe what had just happened, and it felt like a dream to him. Until destiny, fate has decided to be on his side. His uneventful life in Notting Hill will have a series of incidents he did not foresee.

The film was a feel-good movie; there was no antagonist who kept getting in the way of the main character. Though it was said to be a romantic comedy, the protagonists themselves have issues that get them into lots of problems. It builds the story to its climax. It does not have a straight upward slope of events; it has many bumps before it reaches the resolution. Personally, I don’t like how the story gives the personalities of the characters, but the plot itself was good enough to make you stay through the two-hour-long movie. Until the end, it gives surprises.

I can’t choose one climax for the movie because it certainly gives an up-and-down mood on occasion. I think the climax for Thacker is when he starts to choose himself after all the things he has been through, where he starts to realize what is important for him and for Anna. Scott's was when she decided to be free and let her love be known by everyone without hesitating.

The characters in the movie were portrayed really well. The two actors have great chemistry together. The friends related to the main actors give the right vibes for a romantic comedy movie. Though, the series of disappointments Thacker experienced in the movie and the approach he did was too ideal to be compared to reality. The camera techniques used in showing the passage of time in the movie were high quality. It does not just jump showing “after 6 months” on the screen. I see an order to the transitions used in the movie making it more entertaining to watch. Some jokes are offensive when you think about other viewers' perspectives. For example, when Honey stated "Nonsense, I fancy you" then Bernie replied "Me?" then she jokingly said "Or I did before you got so fat". I also commend the soundtrack of the movie, especially the track "When you say nothing at all". It made the scenes more romantic and more heartbreaking.

One thing I noticed was when Anna Scott, a very famous actress, freely watched a movie at a crowded cinema and ate at a restaurant full of people. Maybe because phones with cameras were not available at that time and communication in that year was not as easy today, but the fact that people around her do not recognize her even though buses have her face going around was kind of confusing. Moreover, I think it also shows that at that time, people were not too invested in celebrities, and respecting boundaries. One of the interviews with the writer, Richard Curtis, states that he admitted that some punch lines from the movie were not appropriate and needs to be changed. It was understandable since the movie premiered more than a decade ago, so people should note these things first before watching the movie. For example, the conversation about making fun of the weight of one of the characters. Maybe this is the reason why I can’t find the comedy in watching the film. I sense that some situations were really funny but I don’t really recall many scenes that are funny enough.

“No one knows why some things work out and some things don’t” was my favorite line from the movie. It was an important point that a movie doesn't just give romance but also gives motivation and relatable situations. The groups of friends talking at dinner were comforting to watch. It could make you feel like you are not alone because you’ve got to have someone that will take your side no matter what. One scene from the movie where Anna Scott was having a press conference was compared to one of the Korean dramas called “Encounter”. These two scenes show how great a woman is when it comes to taking up the courage to speak for themselves. It was a remarkable scene from the movie.

In conclusion, I think the movie satisfied the genre it portrays to be. Although, for me, there are lapses in how they show their love because it is sadistic in my opinion when you accept someone that crawls back to you after making you feel small and not-worthy. I think the movie only shows one side of the story and that is Thacker’s life, maybe that is why I can relate to his feelings mostly. It did not show Anna's side after being apart from William. The movie explains for itself, you would actually get some scenes that are very different from today’s setting. But I think it was a good and charming movie that will not stress you too much. It is worth watching when you are looking for a movie that is warm and simple.