"I love her and real love lasts a lifetime" - Love Actually

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Hi Guys! Today I'm going to be looking at and analysing 'Love Actually' and how the narrative structure is created in 'Love Actually'. “Love Actually” is a 2003 Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis which tells the story of different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of who are shown to be interlinked as their tales’ progress. Most of the film was filmed in London and the story begins five weeks before Christmas which is then is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday. There genre of comedy is shown within the film using diverse and quirky characters shown through props theory of characters. The film stars, Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, Emma Thompson as Karen, Liam Nelson as Neil, Keira Knightly as Juliet and Colin Firth as Jamie Bennett. Star theory has been used here as five A-list celebrities have been chosen to star in the film as the five lead characters. This will attract a wider target audience and heighten the overall budget of the film. I am going to be looking at how narrative is being created and how genre is presented to us through the concepts of; editing, sound, camera angles, mise-en-scene, lighting and reading. The film follows a linear narrative as we see the countdown to Christmas through superimposition as the days get closer. The film uses a multi-strand narrative structure as we see many different relationship building and falling apart throughout the film and the consequences these have on the characters.

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A twinkling magical sound has been used in ‘Love Actually’ to create a romantic and Christmassy feeling, because... who doesn't love Christmas? Todorov’s theory of equilibrium can be seen at the stage of equilibrium as equilibrium as everything is settled and normal at the start of the film as they begin to introduce the characters. The first non-diegetic sound we hear is a twinkling Christmas music which creates the warm and loving feel. This is heard as Sarah and Karl say goodnight to each other as they are locking up the office for the night. This non-diegetic sound creates an intimate and loving atmosphere between these two characters which is presented to the audience to be the beginning of their relationship. The Christmassy tone to the music also helps to reveal the Christmas time period in which the film is being shot in. The romantic feel that the Christmas music generates, produces a narrative for a stereotypical Christmas love story which we, as an audience will see later on in the film. Another sound that has been used in ‘Love Actually’ is dialogue which is used to represent a convocation between the two characters, Harry and Karen, “I love her and real love lasts a lifetime”. This quote that is said by Harry represents the narrative and genre to the audience as we can see the build-up of a relationship and how it is progressing to become more serious. As the film goes on, we see the development of this relationship and its ups and downs. This can also be seen as the stage of disequilibrium, going into the chaotic stage of Todorov’s theory of equilibrium as things are beginning to change for the characters and things are starting to develop. This dialogue helps to reveal the genre and narrative of ‘Love Actually’ as love and affection is a typical convention of a romantic genre film which is what we see to be evolving from this point onwards.

Editing has been used throughout ‘Love Actually’ to craft links between the scenes which has been done throughout the film by the majority of straight cuts. Straight cuts also help to keep the film at a fast pace which makes the film uplifted and smooth running. A straight cut has been used is ‘Love Actually’ to cut quickly to two different scenes which are happening simultaneously from ‘Karen’ being in the living room with ‘Harry’ to a scene where the Prime Minister, (Hugh Grant) is dancing around number 10 to “Jump” by the Pointer Sisters. A privileged spectator position can be seen here as the Prime Minister is dancing in his home as he is alone but it is something that the audience get to see which the other characters cannot. This helps to reveal the different characteristics of the characters in the film. This shows Todorov’s equilibrium theory at the stage of chaos as this is not something we expect as an audience to see from an author figure like the Prime Minister. This is not something that the audience would expect to see of an authority figure such as the prime minister but it adds to the happy, Christmas and loving atmosphere which will make the audience feel warm and feel good which is a typical convention of romantic genre. The word "love" crops up in every narrative we see. For example, in Jamie and Aurelia's story Jamie says at the end of their story, "I love you. Will you marry me?" Again, adding to the conventions of a romantic film. Along with this, Sam says to Joanna, "I love you." Despite the fact they are 12, love is a constant factor throughout the film which affects every character. This shows a binary opposition between adults and children and the difference in their relationships throughout the film.

Editing has also been used in ‘Love Actually’ in the form of superimposition. This is used for a change of time and location throughout the film. On screen we visually see “2 weeks till Christmas” indicating the change of time frame and scene that has just happened. We now know as an audience that we are getting closer to Christmas within the film so we gather that the film is going to start to become chaotic within this Christmas period which then fits with Todorov’s theory of equilibrium. This not only builds up the atmosphere and excitement for the actors within the film but also for the audience watching. This helps to reveal the genre and narrative because Christmas time is generally seen to be a time for romance and love so this fits with the typical conventions of a romantic genre film.

Camera angles are used to create a different view for the audience depending on what the produces what emphasise or seen more clearly. In ‘Love Actually’ an over the shoulder shot has been used to show Neil and his maid telling each other in different languages that they will miss each other but due to the language block, neither of them have any idea what the other is saying. This is shown to be the narrative structure of an apparently impossible situation because as an audience, we struggle to see how these characters are going to overcome this block that they have found due to their different languages. A narrative structure of a point of view shot has also been used because a point of view is used as each of the characters look over their shoulders at each other just as the other looks away. This gives us as an audience to be in a privileged spectator position as we know what they are both thinking and even though they have just told each other, they can’t understand what the other is saying so they are still none the wiser. This impacts the narrative because it adds to the sympathy that we feel for the characters who are falling in love but something is stopping them.

Mise-en-scene is a vital concept in creating a narrative structure and revealing the genre. The colours, costume, setting and props all contribute to the structure in which narrative and genre are revealed to the audience. Colours and costume in ‘Love Actually’ are generally casual and bright which displays the different personalities of the characters. Some characters have a more formal costume, such as the prime minister, whilst others have casual clothing such as Harry. A binary opposition is shown here between to social status of characters and the costumes the wear. This also helps to reflect the social status and employment that they are in, relating to props theory of characters. This allows characters to differentiate from each other and the colours that they wear also show their different personalities and attitudes. Setting and Props also help to reveal the genre and narrative because the setting that is used throughout the majority of the film is the city of London because they are able to use the flexibility of location and the diverse culture that is in the city all year round. This is a typical convention of a romantic genre film because it allows different people to connect and interact which we wouldn’t normally see in a smaller city or town.

Finally, lighting and reading also plays a big contribution in revealing the narrative and genre to the audience because it can help to reveal romantic elements, for example, night time. Dark lighting has been used with mainly just filler lights at night time as nigh time and moonlight is seen as a typical convention of a romantic film as the night is very intimate and warming. A binary opposition is shown here between the dark lighting and the brighter colours that are shown through costume. This is recognised to be the most romantic time of the day, especially at Christmas time, as it is seen to be very pretty with lights lighting up the city and the darkness of the night to seem mysterious and romantic. Lighting is used in the day to show the different times in which the scene is filmed. If it is dawn, an orangey red lighting is used to show the rising of the sun. In comparison, is it is evening, blue and black colours are used to show the sun setting and the night drawing in. This is a typical convention of a romantic genre film and it reveals the narrative because all three of these times of day are seen to be passionate and romantic.

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Reading is also used to make the audience involved within the film and it allows them to make their own opinion on the characters. In ‘Love Actually’, the preferred reading of the audience is that Neil and his maid are the favoured couple of the ten that we see because, we know from a privileged spectator position that they are both falling in love with each other but due to their different backgrounds and cultures, they struggle to connect and communicate because they speak different languages. This can be seen to be at a stage of chaos in Todorov’s theory of equilibrium as the characters are struggling to connect due to their language barrier which then causes in blog in the film and creates an enigma code about how these characters are going to get over this issue. As they are the most unusual and most unsuspecting characters to get together due to their differences, it is nice for us as an audience to see two people who are completely different to fall in love, which is why they are the preferred reading of the audience. This helps to reveal narrative and genre to an audience because it shows romance and love in a different way than what we would expect to see in a typical romance film. 

In conclusion, “Love Actually” is presented to be a romantic genre film with the narrative of, a wide variety of characters showing their story of how they feel in love around this Christmas period. This is shown throughout the film using sound, editing, camera angles, mise-en-scene, lighting and reading. These conventions build up a structure of the audience to follow creating the narrative and the genre of the film.