Review of Love Actually (2003) by Hiatt N — 22 Jan 2013

I loved the first hour of this film. I thought it was brilliant fun with some unabashed sweetness. The first hour was cheesy in the best way possible, and I loved it.

Suddenly, the film fell off the rails. The whole thing sort of fell apart over the course of about ten minutes after the one hour mark and was sent tumbling in every direction.

I was still reeling with shock, wondering how one of the most pleasant movies I'd seen in awhile had turned into a total mess, when the film sort of pulled itself together and limped into its ending.

This film has some truly great moments, and some of the plots are absolutely wonderful (note Colin Firth and his housekeeper, or Liam Neeson with his stepson - very nice) but the rest of the film rests filmsily around the idea of love, and fails to be truly satisfying.

The film is worth it for the opening shot alone, though, so definitely see this one.