Notting Hill

Notting Hill is a district of west London that was built as a fashionable Victorian suburb, became very run down during the mid twentieth century and is now once again fashionable, but which retains a distinctly cosmopolitan atmosphere, with London's biggest street market and many small specialist shops. (My wife and I sometimes go there to shop for bargains). The hero of the film, William Thacker, is the owner of one of these shops, a travel bookshop. The film concerns the romance which develops between William and a young woman named Anna Scott whom he meets when she comes into his shop.

As another reviewer has pointed out, 'Notting Hill' is based around a theme, love between people of unequal social standing, which has provided literature with some of its greatest works, both comic and serious, dating back at least to the tale of King Cophetua and the beggar-maid. Although many of these stories tell of a poor but honest lad who aspires to the hand of a princess or titled lady, Anna is not part of the Royal Family or the British aristocracy. She rather belongs to an even more exclusive elite, the Hollywood starocracy. She is a hugely popular film star who earns at least $15,000,000 per film, and pops into William's shop during a brief stay in London to publicise her latest movie.

Although Anna is played by a real-life Hollywood superstar, Julia Roberts, the film is very typically British. William is similar to an number of other Hugh Grant characters, being a shy, diffident middle-class Englishman, probably public-school and university educated. (Despite this background, he is not particularly wealthy following a divorce from his first wife and is forced to share his lodgings with an eccentric Welsh flatmate, Spike). The humour of the film, particularly the dinner-party banter between William and his friends, is mostly of the typically ironic, self-deprecating variety popular in Britain, especially in middle-class circles. Rhys Ifans's Spike, by contrast, typifies another strand of British humour, the eccentric zaniness found in the likes of 'Monty Python'. Spike's strong provincial accent suggests a more working-class background; this possibly accounts for the teasing that he has to put up with from the other characters, although he takes it all in good part.

William may be diffident, self-deprecating and unsuccessful, but he is probably the stronger of the two main characters. Anna is beautiful and successful, but underneath it all she is insecure, worried about losing her fame and fortune and about her inability to form lasting relationships with men. Early on in the film she has another boyfriend, Jeff, but it is clear that he is only the latest in a long string of unsatisfactory romances which have left her emotionally (and in some cases physically) bruised. The scene where Anna says to William 'I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her' is the one where we see her at her most vulnerable. Although both characters are in their late twenties or thirties, it is noteworthy that Anna refers to 'girl and boy' rather than 'woman and man'. Anna's vulnerability also comes through in her reaction in the scene where hordes of paparazzi appear on William's doorstep; William tries to play down the incident, and Spike finds it hugely amusing, but Anna is horrified. (The film was made shortly after the death of Princess Diana; this scene possibly reflects British disgust with the antics of the paparazzi, who were regarded as being partly to blame for the Princess's death). Like others, I found myself wondering how much Anna's personality reflects Julia Roberts's own; she too has had a number of unhappy relationships.

Important roles are also played by Tim McInnerny and Gina McKee as William's best friend Max and his disabled wife Bella; the love of this ordinary couple for each other provides a more realistic, down-to-earth counterpart to the fairy-tale romance of William and Anna, helping to anchor the film more firmly in reality. The main charm, however, lies in the relationship of the two main characters, as Anna comes to realise that the seemingly ordinary William has a kindness and decency which count for more than the monstrous egos of Jeff and his like. Like 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', which was also written by Richard Curtis and starred Hugh Grant, 'Notting Hill' is one of the warmest and most human British films of the nineties. 7/10

Notting Hill is a neighborhood in London and it's the title of a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Two of the most unlikely lovers you could ever imagine get together here.

Grant is the respectable, but somewhat dull proprietor of a bookstore in Notting Hill which specializes in travel books. It looks like he's getting by, but truth be told Grant's perfectly happy with just making enough to pay the bills and a little extra.

Back in the day after she retired from the screen for almost 50 years it was one of those urban legends in New York City to spot Greta Garbo out and about and you'd never know but when she might get a notion to stop into a bookstore like Grant's. In this case Julia Roberts plays a movie star not unlike the real Julia Roberts. Garbo mysterious she's not.

For if she was I doubt Hugh Grant would have considered approaching her. As for Roberts she's looking at Grant as a bit of respite from her life in the media goldfish bowl. When she's discovered it's disaster for both of them.

Notting Hill is a nice romantic comedy with very believable leads in a fairy tale fantasy. I mean who doesn't have a fantasy of wooing and winning some celebrity you might admire or be crushing out on. In that sense Notting Hill has a universal appeal.

In an unbilled part Alec Baldwin plays her boyfriend whom we learn little about factually. But he comes across as an egotistical fathead. One thing you're certain of, no matter what happens with Grant, Roberts and Baldwin won't be an item much longer.

Notting Hill, a nice romantic comedy/fantasy. May you win the celebrity of your desires.

The funny thing about Notting Hill is that Hugh Grant comes off as more charming than Julia Roberts. William Thacker (Grant) remains poised & polite throughout all the madness happening in his life, whereas Anna Scott (Roberts) becomes unlikable at times. Still, this romantic comedy is full of likable characters and amusing moments. I thoroughly enjoyed each dinner scene, especially the interactions between Bella (Gina McKee) and Max (Tim McInnerny). Notting Hill isn't one of my favorite creations by Richard Curtis, but it features many elements I like from his writing and it's an enjoyable movie.

After reading the synopsis, 'Notting Hill' sounds like just another melodramatic Julia Roberts rom com. Fortunately, that ain't the case. 'Notting Hill' is fun, sweet, intelligent and … well, simply said, very entertaining. London's Notting Hill does seem like a street you'd like to walk on.

While the storyline itself is larger than life, the characters are real. There is no overt melodrama. We can see that Curtis put a lot of heart and some Brit wit humour into the writing. After meeting William, Anna, Spike, Max, Bella and Honey, we, as audience, really connect to these very interesting characters and care about them. The table discussion in Honey's birthday scene shows how all the characters connect. While a nervous Anna, is new to the group, we see that she eventually gets a hang of them and feels comfortable enough to talk about herself.

Hugh Grant isn't anything different from his other rom coms. Julia Roberts is brilliant. I never liked any of her romantic comedies (e.g. Pretty Woman, I Love Trouble, Something to Talk About etc) but 'notting Hill is an exception. She gives a subtle portrayal as hugely famous but very vulnerable Anna Scott and does full justice. This indeed is one of her finest performances. Rhys Ifans as Spike is standout! While Tim McInnerny, Emma Chambers, Hugh Bonneville and Gina McKee (love her) are excellent. McKee's comedy is extremely subtle and her character is one of the most appealing. She underplays her part with tremendous grace and maturity.

All the actors share a very warm chemistry that just keeps adding on to its quality. The relationship and friendship between the characters is shown in a very sensitive way. While Spike and William are roommates who just seem to get along, we know that they like each other. Also William is about to cancel a date with the world's most famous actress to attend his sister's birthday party. The relationship between Max and Bella is beautiful.

Additional credit must be given to Coulter's amazing cinematography and the visuals. Watch the scene where Thacker is walking through the market and we see the weather change (indicating the passing time). There's a beautiful soundtrack that recites the moods of the scenes. And last but not least, thanks to Roger Mitchell for putting it all together to tell us this sweet entertaining story.

This film was surprisingly good, not my favourite romantic comedy in the world, and personally I think Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral are better. But it is a good film, thanks to the strong performances, fresh script and the film's look. While not laugh out loud funny, Notting Hill is nonetheless warm and charming. The script is fresh, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful. The part where Anna says "I am just a girl, standing in front of a boy, waiting for him to love her", may be cringe worthy to some people, but for me no matter how clichéd it is it shows a vulnerable side to Anna's character. The film is based on love revolved around unequal social standing, William being diffident and unsuccessful, Anna being the complete opposite. The photography is fabulous and the direction is excellent. Hugh Grant is charming as William and Julia Roberts is positively luminous as Anna, and the two have strong chemistry. Out of the supporting performers, Rhys Ifans stands out in a very zany turn as Spike. The music is lovely too. All in all, this is very warm, charming and pleasant, yeah the ending is predictable, but this is a well written and quite irresistible film. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox