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

Julia Roberts is the queen of Romantic Comedies. Her iconic role in Pretty Woman should give her the title alone, but she's been in tons, some good while others weren't. However, she chose a good one in Notting Hill.

Notting Hill is a sweet, good-natured romantic comedy that succeeds on every level it is trying to be. The story is well-written and more original then it may come off from the trailers. This is a film about movie stars that actually have meaningful conversations about being movie stars. Hugh Grant is also dashing in the leading man role. Roberts actually gives best "Rom-Com" performance here, aside from the Oscar-Nominated, Pretty Woman. She restrains herself and isn't loud or obnoxious, just true to the character. This is some of her most underrated work.

With beautiful shots of London and a sweeping romance, Notting Hill is an example for future romantic comedies. I only had one problem: there is a huge gap in the middle where Roberts is off in America. I understood it was important to the story, but it didn't have to last 20 minutes. This is her story as much as it Grant's, but the writers put her on the back-burner.

While the ending is predictable, it's sweet and makes you smile. Wonderful film; 8.5

Not usually impressed with Romantic Comedies, i found this one strangely compelling. It really was a nice movie, littered with great characters, especially Spike played by Rhys Ifans (Hilarious).

The story demonstrates to the extreme that love can occur between the most unlikely of people, and the humorous portrayal of this, is both touching and realistic. And i mean realistically created, not necessarily true realism.

Worthy of your attention, this well written romantic comedy is a must for fans of the genre and is a good gamble if your not.

8/10

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.

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