.

I’m not entirely sure why I hadn’t seen this film as of yet. I mean, every major English actor ever makes an appearance here (I think I even saw Sir Laurence Olivier’s ghost being used as an extra), so it wasn’t the cast. Love’s one of my favorite emotions, so it certainly wasn’t the subject matter. I think it was the timing of the film’s release, as I worked for Loews Cineplex at the time, and I didn’t want to put in any “extra hours,” if you know what I mean.

The aforementioned all-star English cast did a fantastic job with an ultimately pleasant film. It’s a commercially-aimed love story (or stories, if you will) with just enough artistic integrity to remain bearable. I even enjoyed Hugh Grant, whom I usually detest.

What’s interesting is that this film both benefits and is hurt by its lacking in the resolution department. Sure, we see Hugh Grant’s character get his woman (whom admittedly is a far better choice than Divine Brown), but many things are left to the imagination. Whatever happened to Laura Linney’s character in the end? How about Alan Rickman’s — did he remain faithful to his wife? While, in part, I think that the lack of a clear-cut conclusion is annoying (because, after all, I’m from the U.S. — I like my films to be spoon-fed to me)… I realize that the cliffhanger endings are what separates this artistic film from run-of-the-mill American cinematic tripe.

“Love Actually” is an entertaining film that’s definitely worth it. Rent it this holiday season — it’s a perfect Christmastime date flick!