Notting Hill (1999)

Notting Hill (1999) – rating (4/5)

Cast : Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville

Directed by Roger Michell

Written by Richard Curtis

Review by Zulfiqar

            Notting Hill is an ultimate romantic fantasy epitomized. What could be more unbelievable and more jubilant than a famous showbiz icon, whom you have a severe crush on, falling in love with you? We never are explained how much William Thacker (Hugh Grant), a small travel bookshop owner, idolizes Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), the famous movie actress around the globe. But we know in the way William behaves around her that he indeed is crazy about her.

            But director Roger Michell spices things up by explaining the two characters in the lines we couldn’t comprehend. William isn’t that idiotic fan who cries or jumps around seeing the actress and telling her, he is her ultimate fan. He wants to tell it probably, but he respects her privacy and wants to give her the free space, which every celebrity craves for. Anna Scott isn’t someone who celebrates her status, but who yearns to be a simple girl from a small town, but in the practical sphere of politics, isn’t possible. Thacker gives her this, which probably draws her close to him. But then she couldn’t resist the down-to-earth charm of the shopkeeper.

            Richard Curtis, the great British screen writer of romantic comedies, writes the character of Thacker having his own weaknesses. Thacker explains somewhere in the middle that his wife left him for another man. But look how he does it apportioning no blame on the lady. In that very statement, he accepts the fault of both his and his ex’s, as just another day in life. Anna never indulges in his past. She loves Thacker for what he is.

The chance encounter with the famous actress in his bookshop leads to his vertically architectured, bachelor’s flat, which he shares with his freakish roommate, Spike. After she uses his flat for changing her clothes, which were damaged by Thacker’s accidental spilling of orange juice, an absurd moment finds them kissing each other. But now, look how Curtis writes the script. When in town next time, she calls him for a meeting to apologize for her stupid, incomprehensible moment. And then ends up going for a date with him. Both have hard time understanding what’s happening around them rather than the progress of their affair. Anna is living as much in a fairy tale as is William. She is again that small town girl, as to how William makes her feel. But at the same time, she knows she is being revered by him in his own imperceptible way. His love for her is contained and is more expressed in letting her unfurl her wings, which she couldn’t for the fear of the press.

The movie however is made more atmospheric by populating with everyday characters. The dinner at Will’s wheelchair ridden friend has all the kindred souls like William. William’s shop is in debts. Bella, the invalid, and her husband have a tough life with their no hope of kids. Honey, William’s sister, has problems in finding the right man owing to her lack of physical appeal. Bernie (Hugh Bonneville) a share market businessman has the inherent worry of an unreliable market. But the ace in the hole with regard to the cast is Spike (Rhys Ifans). Just when William thinks his strange flat-mate maybe alright, the latter does something to dismantle William’s thought. Curtis writes the gags surrounding Spike with a bachelor’s eye for that odd friend, whose sort we definitely might have come across once in our lives. And those scenes are hilarious. Even the most peripheral characters like William’s shop assistant, Martin (James Dreyfus), is such a delight. Their reasons and their financial small talk to discuss the daily coffee is itself a great moment. There are many such characters like the shop-thief, William’s dates, his companion in the elevator and many more so.

But again at the heart, the movie is about the see-sawing relationship between two good people amidst the travails of a celebrity state and the indulgence of the media on their personal lives. We not only see how tough is the high-profile life, but how it is controlled by coefficients out of the equation. In a restaurant where a group of friends viciously malign the actress’s name by way of gossip, unknown that the subject is a table way, we see the helplessness of the revered icon. Julia Roberts makes it easy with her charm to be worshipped as a celebrity figure. But at the same time, she is vulnerable as a misinterpreted person by the media and the general public. She brings reason to the emotion when she says once printed, she will be discussed for life.

Hugh Grant as the laidback William had the stereotype of a silent, grieving but lovable man, which started since ‘four weddings and a funeral’, but ‘Notting hill’ established this trait. His humor is subtle and is calculated with a lot of physical appeal. I felt, he honed it up and gave the best of this brand of humor in ‘two weeks notice’. But in the emotional scenes, just by his character, he gives the righteous reason for Anna to repent for her small mistakes. He looks heartrendingly vulnerable while dealing with Jealousy in a matured way, in a scene when he sees his adored beauty in the arms of another man. He is that dream man not because he is desirable and silent to take the brunt, but because he knows the meaning of lost chance and is ready to remedy it.

Not mentioning the soundtrack of ‘Notting Hill’ while discussing the movie is a crime. It embellishes the atmosphere right from the title number, ‘She’ by Elvis Costello. I came to know of ‘Ain’t no sunshine’ for the first time when I watched the movie in 2004. Since then, I have been listening to this Bill Withers’ number like a devotee. ‘When you say nothing at all’ is a timeless classic from Ronan Keating.

Michell’s direction has that placid pace, which makes us indulge rather than reason. This is quite a tough act not just to make it, but let the result show. The conducting of dinner table when William brings Anna to her friend's place is a delight. Michell lets in the sinking of the celebrity-ness in various angles. Curtis’s writing achieves an unbelievable mission at the end. It gives closure to the media, by making it the gluing factor and the lead couple to rightfully fawn in their union. This movie works in every weather, but more so when you have a silent weekend with nothing to dwell on, but leisure. Warning : just don’t get lost in it.