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Dominica Nemec
Ms. Caruso
ENG1101
4 October 2011
Actually Explaining Love
The whole concept oI a movie is to create an emotional journey within people; horror
movies create Iear, dramas create pain and emotional attachment, comedies create lighthearted
moods, and so on. What makes a movie worth watching is how well the writer and director were
able to capture the certain emotion and iI they successIully entertained the audience with it. With
new movies coming out every couple oI weeks or so, it is becoming increasingly harder Ior
Iilmmakers to successIully communicate the purpose oI their Iilm. As one particular genre
dominates the box oIIice in today`s time, Romantic Comedies, it seems that most people would
agree these types oI Iilms are becoming too cliche and increasingly unbearable to sit through.
Nearly every single one Iollows the same outline: girl meets boy, they dislike each other at Iirst
(or are at least not romantically involved), one starts to have Ieelings Ior the other, they begin to
Iall in love, conIlict occurs and the relationship Ialls apart, and Iinally the issue is resolved
(heroically) and they end up together. As society is becoming increasingly disappointed with the
predictability oI such Iilms, those romantic comedies that don`t Iall under the status quo, those
that truly have a message to send, have become increasingly intriguing.
With growing demand Ior variety in the world oI Romantic Comedy Iilms, one Iilm in
particular was able to achieve a much higher credibility than just another simple 'chick Ilick.
Using the somewhat new and unexplored style oI telling a story through multiple plots (all
loosely interlinked), the Iilm Love, Actually was able to capture the attention oI its audience in a
unique way. The Iilm`s purpose was to portray that everyone experiences love in all ways in their
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lives, whether it be a with a signiIicant other, a Iamily member, or even a Iriend. What Writer and
Director Richard Curtis also tried to express is that, whether it be IulIilling or heartbreaking, love
is a powerIul emotion Iull oI positivity. As stated earlier, such a goal has been diIIicult to
conceive in a modern Iilm, but Curtis`s eIIorts have proven to be successIul. Starring actor Hugh
Grant had said in an interview about the Iilm, '.nice is diIIicult to do without being nauseous,
(Interview, 2003) meaning that so oIten Iilms are unsuccessIul in sending messages oI positivity.
He then went on to praise Curtis on his achievement oI such a message in this Iilm.
The greatest success oI this movie was IulIilling its purpose through the telling oI stories
with happy and heartbreaking endings alike. The importance oI this point is to demonstrate
realism in the Iilm. So oIten in romantic comedies, the audience Iinds themselves believing that
such great and heartwarming love stories cannot happen in real liIe. Richard Curtis made this
movie more realistic by not only showing all diIIerent Iorms oI love, but also showing all
diIIerent Iorms oI 'ever aIters. In an interview, aIter being asked iI the Iilm was about love,
Curtis responded with 'that`s the main idea, yeah, love in all diIIerent shapes and sizes...
(Interview, 2003). For example, one plot line in the movie Iollows a man, named Harry, as he
struggles with the dilemma oI being IaithIul to his wiIe Karen, or succumbing to the seductions
oI Mia, his secretary. As Karen eventually Iinds out about the Ilirtations, the end oI their story
shows them to still be married, but both are clearly unhappy and conIused with the state oI their
relationship. The ending to this storyline is not heroically romantic (yes, this Iilm has plenty oI
those), nor devastatingly heartbreaking, it is simply realistic, which is what makes it so
compelling. Realism is something that Richard Curtis strived Ior while making this Iilm. He once
stated that he was Iascinated by 'the everyday details that make up real liIe (The Christian
Science Monitor, 2003), which he demonstrated through the plots such as the love triangle
between Harry, Karen, and Mia. With Iilms today being so incredibly mass-produced, storylines
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are becoming more elaborate and complex, making stories with realistic and relatable undertones
those that can truly captivate an audience. Such a concept is ironic because Iilms are meant to be
a 'getaway Irom peoples` own lives, yet it is the Iilms that closely relate to their own lives that
create a lasting eIIect. With this Curtis achieved his purpose oI the Iilm, to portray love in any
and every sense oI the word.
As the purpose oI the Iilm was to demonstrate love in all Iorms, the Iilm not only Iocuses
on deeply romantic love stories, but also love in many other types oI relationships, such as
between Iamily or Iriends. As stated beIore, Curtis`s goal was to create a captivating story in
which love can be seen everywhere, in any Iorm, and he does just that by giving the audience a
broad scope oI all kinds oI love through many diIIerent situations. One particular situation in the
Iilm involves Billy, an aging rock star, who aIter many years oI Iame and indulgence, realizes
that the one person he truly loves in his liIe is his best Iriend and manager, Joe. This does not
mean that Billy suddenly realized his deep, romantic and platonic Ieelings Ior Joe, but simply
acknowledging that his Iriendship has been greatly appreciated throughout the years and,
thereIore, truly loves him Ior that. Such examples oI love prove that everyone has love in their
lives, and everyone experiences it in diIIerent ways, which is exactly what Curtis was trying to
achieve.
Although Love, Actually was very successIul in communicating that love comes in all
diIIerent Iorms with all diIIerent outcomes, Richard Curtis was not the only visionary to attempt
to send this message. Numerous Iilms have touched on the subject oI love and the diIIerent ways
it aIIects lives through multiple perspectives, once such being Hes Just Not That Into You,
directed by Ken Kwapis. Although the title might suggest a cynical and negative attitude towards
love, and in the beginning it seems as though that is the direction, the Iilm`s ultimate message
was that love may be diIIicult, embarrassing and conIusing, but ultimately worth all oI the
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struggle in the end. A slightly diIIerent message than that oI Richard Curtis`s Film, the movie
uniquely compliments the eIIorts oI Love, Actually by using multiple stories with various endings
to attempt to explain the phenomenon oI love. Director Ken Kwapis stated, 'there`s room Ior
some characters to have happy endings, and Ior some couples to not end up couples, and Ior
some people to end up with stories that are not resolved at all, (Interview, 2009) which directly
relates to the message Love, Actually means to send. Such a plot would be the story oI a slowly
deteriorating marriage that Iinally ends with a split between Janine and Ben. Long suspecting
Ben`s dishonesty, Janine Iinally realizes that such a marriage oI lies and deceit is no longer
IulIilling, thereIore demonstrating that love sometimes does not always end happily. The major
Ilaw in Hes Just Not That Into You that causes the Iilm not to be as successIul in communicating
its purpose as Love, Actually does, is that the Iilm does not portray love in diIIerent ways. Kwapis
chose to Iocus only on romantic love, thereIore not being able to demonstrate his message oI love
to the Iull extent. This does not mean that Kwapis was wrong in his portrayal oI love, it simply
means that Curtis was more successIul in his purpose oI creating a Iilm about love being in the
lives oI all in one way or another. Nevertheless, both Iilms were able to demonstrate their own
interpretations oI love through multiple, relatable storylines, and thereIore both somewhat
achieve their purpose successIully.
Any kind oI text, no matter what is may be, has a purpose. Each has some sort oI task to
IulIill or message to send, and the success oI such a purpose is determined but measure oI how
well they achieve this. For example, II two people were to study Ior the same test, and one
received the grade oI and 'A and the other the grade oI a 'C, then it is clear that the person
with the 'A grade achieved their purpose with Iar more success than the person with 'C grade.
It is the same concept when discussing the success oI a text. Richard Curtis`s purpose with Love,
Actually was to demonstrate to a vast audience that love is experienced by everyone in multiple
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ways, and he communicated this through multiple storylines. Curtis achieved this purpose with
great success because he was able to explain his point clearly through the genre oI Romantic
Comedy, but used a unique method oI multiple plotlines to capture the attention oI his audience,
thus making the purpose oI Love, Actually even more successIul. This Iilm became a great
success because the audience was able to relate to the stories, creating a truly IulIilling
experience.


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Works Cited
Love, Actually. Writ. Richard Curtis. Dir. Richard Curtis. PerI, Hug Grant, Emma Thompson, et
al. Working Title Films, 2003. DVD
Hes Just Not That Into You. Writ. Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Greg Behrendt, and Liz
Tuccillo. Dir. Ken Kwapis. PerI. JenniIer Aniston, GinniIer Goodwin, et al. Flower Films, 2009.
DVD
Curtis, Richard, Grant Hugh, Linney Laura, Thompson, Emma. Interview with Charlie Rose.
Charlie Rose. 7 November 2003. Television
Kwapis, Ken. Interview Unknown. Youtube. Web. 19 March 2009
Goodale, Gloria. Richard Curtiss latest labor of love, actually. The Christian Science Monitor.
Web. 7 November 2003

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Text
Love, Actually. Writ. Richard Curtis. Dir. Richard Curtis. PerI, Hug Grant, Emma Thompson, et
al. Working Title Films, 2003. DVD