In November of 2003, director and writer Richard Curtis’ Christmas movie, Love Actually, was released to the public. 

The movie has a star-studded cast, including Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Andrew Lincoln, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, and Alan Rickman. 

It has nine different, but interconnected storylines mostly unfolding in England. What unites all of them is the idea that love is everywhere. 

During the movie, the audience gets to see the stories of the romance between the newly elected Prime Minister of Great Britain and his employee, two body doubles in a movie who fall in love, a woman and her unfaithful husband, and a man who is in love with his best friend’s wife. 

They also get to explore the lives of a lonely singer and his loyal assistant, a man and woman who fall in love but are separated by a language barrier, a stepfather who just lost his wife raising his son, a woman who’s unable to find a boyfriend because of her sick brother, and a British man who goes to America to find love. 

The film starts and ends with shots from the arrival gate at an airport. The narrator talks about how looking at the people reuniting with their loved ones proves to him that love is everywhere. 

It flows smoothly regardless of the fact that it contains nine different storylines. 

It was extremely enjoyable because despite it being a Christmas movie, its true focus was on love and the different depths it has; not just romantic love, but love between family members and friends. 

One of the stories was about Sam and his stepfather, Daniel, played by Neeson. After his wife’s death, Daniel stepped up and took Sam in to raise as his own. He helped Sam out with winning over the girl he liked before she moved away. 

This storyline is my personal favorite because although the romance is fun to watch, it shows the most pure form of love: the love between a parent and their child. It was so beautiful to see how love connected the two and they ended up becoming each other’s true family. 

The cinematography may not have been the best I’ve ever seen, but the editing was good and the way the stories came together in the end was executed well. 

It has the feel of an somewhat older Christmas movie, and some may say it’s cheesy but many people believe the film is a classic. 

Some scenes in the movie can be interpreted as cheesy. One example is when Lincoln’s character, Mark, confesses his love for Knightley’s character, Juliet, who is also his best friend’s wife. 

He does this by knocking on her door while she was watching a movie with her husband, telling her to pretend he’s Christmas carolers, turning on a boom box playing Christmas songs, and holding up signs that express how much he loves her. 

Despite a few scenes that may make those who aren’t hopeless romantics cringe, the movie is loved by many because of the happy and lighthearted feeling it gives them.  

The best part of the movie was its message. In a world where the Christmas holiday is extremely commercialized, the movie shows that the true meaning of Christmas is family and love. 

I really enjoyed the film and watch it with my family every year. It’s a true classic and I highly recommend it. The message is beautiful and it serves as a great reminder to anyone watching appreciate the love in their lives around this special time of year.