During a series of press interviews to promote “Love Actually,” Jonathan Ross asked Martine McCutcheon—one of the actresses in the film—what it was about Richard Curtis that helped him connect so strongly to his audience. She said it was because he showed a cynical British public a side of themselves they didn’t often see: bright, happy people living good and humble lives. Hugh Grant told Charlie Rose the same thing—in a world obsessed with hatred and greed, Curtis hasn’t been afraid to produce films that actually have something to say. And Laura Linney said simply that it was because Curtis was an “emotionally responsible person.”
Optimism and emotional integrity aren’t really the public’s strong points nowadays. I don’t mean for this to sound like a “this world is a dark, dark place with sleazy politicians, corrupt bankers, and a cynical 24-hour news cycle” speech, because I don’t feel that way. It’s more that I think our hipster culture has trained us to walk through life with our hands in front of our faces, sneering at people who express passion for the wrong sorts of people or things—or passion for anything at all. We’ve grown to love irony more than real feeling. Sometimes I think we’re afraid to use the word “love” at all.
And that’s why I love Richard Curtis. His films always remind me that love and positivity aren’t necessarily out of currency; they’re just not often discussed. “You report a bullet, not a kiss,” he told Charlie Rose. And he somehow manages to present that message without hitting us over the head with it. That’s where the emotional responsibility part comes in.
More so than any other romantic comedy writer, Curtis manages to portray real life pretty well. His plot developments are usually things I could see happening in my own life—just with a higher budget and better looking people. When people fall in love in his movies, they do it quietly.
Not like this:
Like this:
I love that. I don’t know many guys that would chase down a woman on New Year’s Eve to give her a perfectly-worded speech declaring his love. But I do know a few who would follow her out of a dinner party and say, “I like you very much.”
And in a world that tells you to cover yourself in a protective shell and second guess your more vulnerable feelings, I think that’s pretty heroic.
