Love Actually, the great romantic classic of Christmas
“If you look for it, I have a strange feeling that you will discover that love, in fact, is everywhere” . Thus, with the voice of Hugh grant off making such an unforgettable statement, begins Love Actually.
Since its premiere 15 years ago, Love Actually has become cult film . With such iconic scenes as the Prime Minister's Ball and the Silent Declaration of Love now a part of popular film culture, this rabidly English rom-com is now a universal symbol.
It doesn't matter if you've seen it in its entirety a thousand times or not at all, if you're looking forward to December to have an excuse to watch it again, or the title doesn't ring a bell: **Love Actually Tastes Like Christmas**.
Love Actually tastes like Christmas
But beyond his holiday spirit , this modern tale is, in essence, a hymn to love: interpersonal, to oneself, to surprises, reunions and, of course, to London .
From Notting Hill to the South Bank, from Downing Street to Heathrow , the English capital shines with its own light throughout the film, becoming the undisputed protagonist of this new classic.
Come to know the London that celebrates in style parties, unconditional love and airport arrivals halls, and take a walk through Love Actually.
GROSVENOR CHAPEL, MAYFAIR
Love movies usually end in weddings, right? Not in the London of Love Actually : here, it starts in the church.
One of the first scenes of the film is the wedding of Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Juliet (Keira Knightley), it was shot in Grosvenor Chapel, in Mayfair. All you need is love, yes, especially if the Beatles classic comes in the form of a surprise serenade. All the work of Mark (Andrew Lincoln), the groom's best friend.
Grosvenor Chapel
GABRIEL'S WHARF, SOUTH BANK
One of the film's biggest truths comes from its younger character. And it is that , is there anything worse than the anguish of being in love?
Faced with such a bombshell, brought by the hand of Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), we are not consoled by the privileged view of the Gabriel's Wharf , south of the Thames. We understand you, Daniel (Liam Neeson).
Love Actually
MAPPIN HOUSE, NOTTING HILL
Who knew that in the UK instead of song of the summer, they have christmas song ? Well, yes, and they have as much circulation and repercussion as the ' Slowly ' shift.
This explains the determination of ** Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) **, former heroin addict and former rock star, to reach the top of the charts with his ' Christmas is All Around' . The promotional campaign leads him to a candid interview with Radio Watford , shot in the old studios of Heat Radio at Mappin House , Notting Hill (today the building belongs to Bauer Media) . Particular mention of Britney Spears included.
10 DOWNING STREET
Many have passed through 10 Downing, the residence of the highest office in the British government (after Her Majesty, of course). Several names have also been immortalized on celluloid, from Churchill to Thatcher.
But has anyone ever dared to dance around the house to the sound of a 90's hit With as much salt shaker as Hugh Grant's David ? No, of course not.
Hugh Grant giving it his all at 10 Downing Street
OXO TOWER WHARF
Falling in love with your best friend's girlfriend is already a bad drink. But if, no matter how indifferent you are in her presence, she finds out in the most unexpected way, that is already a full-fledged drama.
And if you don't ask Mark, that he is forced to walk out of his own house, without a coat (and it's almost Christmas, let's not forget), and take a frustrated walk around the Oxo Tower Wharf to the sound of Dido . As for no.
POPLAR ROAD, HERNE HILL
Little did Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) know when she blurted out that she lived in “Wandsworth, on the dodgy side” that the prime minister would have to look for her house to house. But that's how it is: whoever wants something from her costs him, and David asks for her door to door in “the longest street in the world” until he finds her.
The street in question (at least the one on screen) is not in Wandsworth. The scene was shot in poplar road , in the neighboring neighborhood of Herne Hill. What are we going to say, love is allowed licenses of this type.
** SELFRIDGES , OXFORD STREET **
This shopping center is a London classic. A shopping institution in oxford street who dons his best clothes at Christmas, waiting for the crowds that rush in search of the elusive perfect gift. Two of them are Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman), who are there with just that purpose: finish Christmas shopping.
It is also in Selfridges one of the scenes with the most irritating potential of the film: taking advantage of the fact that his wife is busy, Harry sneaks off to get a present for his secretary . His mission will be truncated by a very dedicated clerk, in one of the best cameos in the history of cinema (at least Christmas): Rowan Atkinson. Thank you, Mr. Bean, for the moment.
Thank you, Mr. Bean, for the moment.
ELLIOT SCHOOL, PUTNEY
Elliot School is a historic place - the scene of the first (and possibly only) Nativity scene with lobsters, whales and octopuses. This neighborhood school Putney (now closed) has one of London's most special Christmas performances: the Nativity Scene, a Mariah Carey cover, and, er, a performance by the Prime Minister. How to miss it.
ST LUKE'S MEWS, NOTTING HILL
Notting Hill It is, perhaps, the most cinematographic neighborhood in London. And not for nothing: with its cobbled streets and pastel-colored houses, this area of West London is pure photogenic.
In the heart of the neighborhood, in St Luke's Mews , newlyweds Juliet and Peter live. Mark goes there, with the intention of making one of the most commented declarations of love in the history of cinema.
A Christmas carol tape, some posters and a broken heart: the perfect ingredients for an unforgettable scene, made in Love Actually.
The great scene of Love Actually
THE ARRIVALS HALL AT HEATHROW TERMINALS 3 AND 5
But if there is a scene in Love Actually that reaches us, is the opening sequence: the arrivals hall at Heathrow airport.
Many adventurers count passing the runway as one of the (necessary) evils of travel, but it must be recognized that airports have their romantic side: the arrival halls are a mosaic of emotions.
Every day of the year (but especially at Christmas), Heathrow is the privileged setting for thousands of long-awaited and unrepeatable reunions. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, old friends… Heathrow brings them together, erasing at a stroke any pessimism we may feel about the state of the world.
As Hugh Grant's voice-over told us at the beginning: “The general opinion suggests that we live in a world of hatred and selfishness, but I do not understand it that way . It seems to me that love is everywhere. It's often not particularly decorous or newsworthy, but it's always there. If you look for it, I have a strange feeling that you will discover that love really is everywhere. ”.
Touché, Hugh. Touch.
The great scene of Love Actually