CW: Genre Research: Love Actually, 2003

Love Actually

Richard Curtis, 2003 (Rom-Com, 15)

Produced by: Universal Studios

Distributed by: Universal Studios

Budget: $30M

Box Office: £36M ($59M in US)

Trailer, Wikipedia

Rotten Tomatoes: 63%

Synopsis:

Love actually is another atypical rom-com. This time however, it is because we follow many interlinked characters as each of them find love. 

Titles:

The idents starts with Universal, then Studio Canal, and finally, Working Title . Each have their own audio.

The titles are not very noteworthy but include the phrases

'Universal Studios and Studio Canal present'

'A Working Title production'

'In association with DNA Films'

Points about the opening:

The movie title is presented in a unique way

The movie starts with a voiceover, which says the words 'love actually is all around', as these words are said they fade onto screen, all the other words fade away, leaving only 'love actually' on screen.

In the recording studio

The movie then cuts to a recording studio, where a christmassy song cover is being recorded, which leads nicely on, through an audio bridge, to a very quick montages of shots. While quick, this montage provides a lot of exposition. Through shots of the London eye, Trafalgar square and a christmas tree at a shopping centre the location and time of year are provided. This makes it clear how much information can be given through a short amount of time by using a montage.

As there are many characters, who each have their own 'story' to be set up the opening could easily be very overwhelming. However, the producers have avoided overwhelming people by carefully choosing what to show. It also helps that many characters are interlinked already, meaning multiple stories can be shown at the same time. This is particularly notable as it highlights the importance of good mise-en-scene.

The first montage shot

Second montage Shot

another montage shot