William Thacker owns a travel book store in Notting Hill, London. Divorced from his wife who left him for another man, he shares a flat with Spike, a flaky and sloppy Welshman. One day, famous Hollywood actress Anna Scott enters the shop and buys a book. Shortly after she leaves, Will bumps into her while rounding a street corner, spilling his juice on her. He takes her to his flat across the street so she can change. When leaving, she impulsively kisses him.
Anna later invites him to visit her at the Ritz Hotel. Upon his arrival, he is mistaken for a reporter and ushered into a press event for her new film. When asked, he says he writes for Horse & Hound magazine. Anna asks to be William's date at his sister Honey's birthday party later that evening. Though his friends and family are surprised, Anna gets on well with everyone and enjoys herself. Later, the two enter a private neighbourhood park, where Anna again kisses Will.
At a restaurant the next day, Will and Anna overhear six men at a nearby table discussing her, first praising and then disparaging her and equating actresses to prostitutes. Will confronts them, then she introduces herself and calmly insults the stunned group of men.
Anna invites Will to her hotel room, but he quickly leaves after discovering that her movie star boyfriend, Jeff King, has unexpectedly arrived from America. Over the next six months, Will's friends arrange a series of dates for him, but Will, unable to forget Anna, is uninterested in another relationship.
One day, a distraught Anna appears at Will's doorstep, needing to hide from a tabloid scandal. She apologises about King and says their relationship is over. They discover shared interests, and discuss Will's print of Marc Chagall's 1950 painting La Mariée. They make love that night. The next morning, paparazzi, inadvertently tipped off by Spike, besiege the house and take photos of Will, Anna, and a half-dressed Spike at the front door. Furious, she blames Will and leaves.
Several seasons pass, and Will remains miserable. When he discovers Anna is back in London making a film based on a Henry James novel, something he had suggested, he visits the set unannounced. She asks him to wait until shooting is done, but he leaves after overhearing her being dismissive about him to another actor. Anna comes to the bookshop the next day, bringing a wrapped gift. Will says he overheard what she said about him to her co-star. She explains that she was merely keeping her personal life private from another actor. She proclaims that she loves him, and pleads to rekindle their relationship. Will says no, explaining he would be too hurt if she left him again.
Will meets his friends and sister at a restaurant with Anna's partly opened gift: Chagall's original La Mariée ("The Bride"). They halfheartedly support his decision about Anna until Spike arrives and calls him a "daft prick". Will admits his mistake, and everyone races across London to find Anna, who is holding a press conference at the Savoy Hotel. They arrive just as her publicist announces that Anna is taking a year off and is leaving the UK that night.
A reporter asks about the embarrassing photographs taken at Will's flat, and Anna says they are just friends. Will asks her if she would consider being more than friends if he begs her forgiveness. She says she would, then requests that the reporter repeat his question, "How long are you intending to stay here in Britain?" Smiling, she answers "Indefinitely".
Anna and Will marry, as do Spike and Honey. Anna is pregnant as she and Will spend time in the private park that they visited on their first date.
Julia Roberts was the "one and only" choice for the role of Anna Scott, although Roger Michell and Duncan Kenworthy did not expect her to accept. Her agent told her it was "the best romantic comedy she had ever read".[2] Roberts said that after reading the script she decided she was "going to have to do this".[3]
The decision to cast Hugh Grant as William Thacker was unanimous, as he and Richard Curtis had a "writer/actor marriage made in heaven". Michell said that "Hugh does Richard better than anyone else, and Richard writes Hugh better than anyone else", and that Grant is "one of the only actors who can speak Richard's lines perfectly".[2]
The casting of Bonneville, McInnerny, McKee, Chambers, and Ifans as Will's friends was "rather like assembling a family". Michell explained, "When you are casting a cabal of friends, you have to cast a balance of qualities, of types and of sensibilities. They were the jigsaw that had to be put together all in one go, and I think we've got a very good variety of people who can realistically still live in the same world."[2]
Omid Djalili makes an uncredited cameo as the vendor who sells Will the orange juice that Will accidentally spills on Anna moments later.
Science fiction author China Miéville was cast as an extra in the film, which he humorously described as a dystopian alternative history of an ethnically-cleansed city.[5]
Production
"I would sometimes wonder what it would be like if I just turned up at my friends' house, where I used to have dinner once a week, with the most famous person at that time, be it Madonna or whomever. It all sprang from there. How would my friends react? Who would try and be cool? How would you get through dinner? What would they say to you afterwards?"
Richard Curtis developed the film from thoughts while lying awake at night. He described the starting point as "the idea of a very normal person going out with an unbelievably famous person and how that impinges on their lives".[6] In an interview with GQ in 2018, Hugh Grant claimed the film was based on real life and loosely followed a friend of Richard's who fell in love with an 'extremely world-famous person who [Grant wasn't] allowed to mention'.[7] Much like the film, Curtis's friend was an everyday person who met the well known celebrity in a shop (Harrods) and they ended up having a relationship.[8]
The film has been likened to "a 90's London-set version of Roman Holiday".[9] However, Curtis has said that he had not seen the 1953 film.[10]
Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell was approached but rejected it to work on Pushing Tin. He said that in commercial terms he had made the wrong decision, but did not regret it.[11] The producer, Duncan Kenworthy, then turned to Roger Michell, saying that "Finding someone as good as Roger, was just like finding the right actor to play each role. Roger shone out."[2]
Nicole Kidman fought to get the role of Anna Scott, but she was told that she wasn't talented enough.[12] Roberts originally didn't want to play the role as she thought the pitch sounded terrible.[13]
Curtis chose Notting Hill as he lived there and knew the area, saying "Notting Hill is a melting pot and the perfect place to set a film". This left the producers to film in a heavily populated area. Kenworthy noted "Early on, we toyed with the idea of building a huge exterior set. That way we would have more control, because we were worried about having Roberts and Grant on public streets where we could get thousands of onlookers." In the end they decided to film in the streets. Michell was worried "that Hugh and Julia were going to turn up on the first day of shooting on Portobello Road, and there would be gridlock and we would be surrounded by thousands of people and paparazzi photographers who would prevent us from shooting". The location team and security personnel prevented this, as well as preventing problems the presence of a film crew might have caused the residents of Notting Hill, who Michell believes were "genuinely excited" about the film. Location manager Sue Quinn described finding locations and getting permission to film as "a mammoth task". Quinn and the rest of her team had to write to thousands of people in the area, promising to donate to each person's favourite charity, resulting in 200 charities receiving money.[14]
"The major problem we encountered was the size of our film unit. We couldn't just go in and shoot and come out. We were everywhere. Filming on the London streets has to be done in such a way that it comes up to health and safety standards. There is no such thing as a road closure. We were very lucky in the fact that we had 100% cooperation from the police and the Council. They looked favorably on what we were trying to do and how it would promote the area."
Stuart Craig, the production designer, was pleased to do a contemporary film, saying, "We're dealing with streets with thousands of people, market traders, shop owners and residents, which makes it really complex".[14] Filming began on 17 April 1998 in West London and at Shepperton Studios.[2] Will's bookshop was on Portobello Road, one of the main areas where filming took place. Other locations in Notting Hill included Westbourne Park Road, Golborne Road, Landsdowne Road and the Coronet Cinema.[14] Will's house, 280 Westbourne Park Road, was owned by Richard Curtis and behind the entrance there is a grand house, not the flat in the film that was made up in the studios. The blue door was auctioned for charity. The current door is blue again. The Travel Book Store is located at 142 Portobello Road.[15] After filming for six weeks in Notting Hill, filming moved to the Ritz Hotel, where it had to take place at night. Other locations were Savoy Hotel, the Nobu Restaurant, the Zen Garden of the Hempel Hotel, and Kenwood House.[14]
One of the final scenes takes place at a film premiere, which presented difficulties. Michell wanted to film at Leicester Square but was declined. Police had found fans at a Leonardo DiCaprio premiere problematic and were concerned the same might occur at the staged premiere. Through a health and safety act, the production received permission to film and constructed the scene in 24 hours.[14] Interior scenes were the last to be filmed, at Shepperton Studios.[14]
The final cut was 3.5 hours long; 90 minutes were edited out for release.[16]
The film features the 1950 Marc Chagall painting La Mariée ("The Bride"). Anna sees a print of the painting in William's home and later gives him what is presumably the original. Michell said in Entertainment Weekly that the painting was chosen because Curtis was a fan of Chagall's work and because La Mariée "depicts a yearning for something that's lost." The producers had a reproduction made for the film, created by British artist Thomasina Smith, but first had to get permission from the owner as well as clearance from the Design and Artists Copyright Society. Finally, according to Kenworthy, "we had to agree to destroy it. They were concerned that if our fake was too good, it might float around the market and create problems." The article also noted that "some experts say the real canvas could be worth between US$500,000 and US$1million."[17]
The film features the book Istanbul: The Imperial City (1996) by John Freely. William recommends this book to Anna, commenting that (unlike another book in the store) the author has at least been to Istanbul. Indeed, Freely taught at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul[18] and was the author of nine books about the city.
In the film's last scene, Will is shown reading the 1994 book Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. It was to have been Roger Michell's next film, but a heart attack forced him to withdraw from the production.
Original music was composed by Trevor Jones.[19] A main score was written, and excerpts were used throughout the film. The score was broken down into two songs for the soundtrack (Will and Anna/Notting Hill). Several additional songs written by other artists include Elvis Costello's cover of the Charles Aznavour song "She". Charles Aznavour's original version can be heard during the opening credits while Elvis Costello's version is played at the end of the movie (before the end credits). Other songs are Shania Twain's remixed version of "You've Got a Way", as well as Ronan Keating's specially recorded cover of "When You Say Nothing at All"; the song reached number one in the British charts. Pulp recorded a new song "Born to Cry", which was released on the European version of the soundtrack album.
The song played when Will strides down Portobello Road is "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Tony and Bernie play "Blue Moon" on the piano at Tony's restaurant on the night it closes.[20] Originally, Charles Aznavour's version of "She" was used in the film, but American test screening audiences did not respond to it. Costello was then brought in by Richard Curtis to record a cover version of the song.[21] Both versions of the song appear in non-US releases.
The film score and original music was recorded and mixed by Gareth Cousins (who also mixed all the songs used in the film) and Simon Rhodes.
Release
The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 27 April 1999[22] and opened in the UK on 21 May 1999 and in the United States the following week.
Reception
Critical reception
Notting Hill received critical approval upon release.[23] On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 105 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A rom-com with the right ingredients, Notting Hill proves there's nothing like a love story well told—especially when Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts are your leads."[24] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[26]
Variety's Derek Elley said that "It's slick, it's gawky, it's 10 minutes too long, and it's certainly not "Four Weddings and a Funeral Part 2" in either construction or overall tone", giving it an overall positive review.[27]Cranky Critic called it "Bloody damned good", as well as saying that it was "A perfect date flick."[28]Nitrate said that "Notting Hill is whimsical and light, fresh and quirky", with "endearing moments and memorable characters".[29] In his review of the film's DVD John J. Puccio writes, "The movie is a fairy tale, and writer Richard Curtis knows how much the public loves a fairy tale", calling it "a sweet film".[30] Desson Howe of The Washington Post gave the film a very positive review, particularly praising Rhys Ifans' performance as Spike.[31] James Sanford gave Notting Hill three and a half stars, saying that "Curtis' dialogue may be much snappier than his sometimes dawdling plot, but the first hour of Notting Hill is so beguiling and consistently funny it seems churlish to complain that the rest is merely good."[32] Sue Pierman of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated that "Notting Hill is clever, funny, romantic—and oh, yes, reminiscent of Four Weddings and a Funeral", but that the film "is so satisfying, it doesn't pay to nitpick."[33]Roger Ebert praised the film, saying "The movie is bright, the dialogue has wit and intelligence, and Roberts and Grant are very easy to like."[34] Kenneth Turan gave a good review, concluding that "the film's romantic core is impervious to problems".[35]CNN reviewer Paul Clinton said that Notting Hill "stands alone as another funny and heartwarming story about love against all odds".[36]
Widgett Walls of Needcoffee.com gave the film "three and a half cups of coffee", stating, "The humor of the film saves it from a completely trite and unsatisfying (nay, shall I say enraging) ending", but criticising the soundtrack.[37] Dennis Schwartz gave the film a negative review with a grade of "C−", writing, "This film was pure and unadulterated balderdash".[38] Some criticised the film for giving a "sweetened unrealistic view of London life and British eccentricity".[39]The Independent derided the film as "unrealistic".[40] It was also criticised for failing to reflect the area's demographic: "Only Curtis could write a movie about Notting Hill, London's most diverse borough, and not feature a single black face in it."[41][42]
Lists
Notting Hill was 95th on the British Film Institute's "list of the all-time top 100 films", based on estimates of each film's British cinema admissions.[4]
Box office
The film opened over the Memorial Day weekend in the United States and Canada, the same weekend as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and opened at #2 for the four-day weekend, grossing US$27.7million, the biggest opening for a romantic comedy film, beating My Best Friend's Wedding (which also starred Julia Roberts).[43][44] It made another US$15million the following week.[45][46] One month after its release, it lost its record for highest-grossing opening weekend for a romantic comedy film to Runaway Bride (again starring Roberts).[47]Notting Hill grossed £31 million in the United Kingdom[48] (the second highest-grossing film of 1999 behind The Phantom Menace) and US$116,089,678 in the United States and Canada (the 16th highest-grossing film of 1999),[49] with a worldwide gross of US$363,889,678,[50] making it the highest-grossing British film of all time, surpassing the record set by Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994 (also starring Hugh Grant),[48] and the seventh highest-grossing film of 1999.
Awards and nominations
Notting Hill won the Audience Award for Most Popular Film at the BAFTAs in 2000,[51] and was nominated in the categories of The Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year, and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Rhys Ifans.[52] It won Best Comedy Film at the British Comedy Awards.[53] Its soundtrack won Best Soundtrack at the 2000 Brit Awards.[54] It won Best British Film, Best British Director for Roger Michell, and Best British Actor for Hugh Grant at the Empire Awards.[55] It received three nominations at the Golden Globes, in the categories Best Motion Picture– Comedy/Musical, Best Motion Picture Actor– Comedy/Musical for Hugh Grant, and Best Motion Picture Actress– Comedy/Musical for Julia Roberts.[56]
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of friends through a number of social occasions as they each encounter romance. Andie MacDowell co-stars as Charles's love interest Carrie, with Kristin Scott Thomas, James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, and Rowan Atkinson in supporting roles.
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. The films in which she has starred have collectively grossed over $3.9 billion globally, making her one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. After an early breakthrough with appearances in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts established herself as a leading actress when she headlined the top-grossing romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990).
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress. Known for her work in both comedy and drama, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Diaz established herself as a sex symbol and one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, and in 2013 she was named the highest-paid actress over 40. She has received various accolades, including nominations for a BAFTA Award and four Golden Globe Awards.
Rosalie Anderson MacDowell is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for L'Oréal since 1986.
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for her performances in the horror and slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream queen, in addition to roles in comedies. Curtis has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award.
Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the film also won the Academy Award for Best Story and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013), and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. He has received several accolades including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. He received an Honorary César in 2006. As of 2018, his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022, Time Out magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's 50 greatest actors of all time.
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress. Known for playing comedic roles, she rose to prominence with the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie film series (2000–2006). Her film credits include The Hot Chick (2002), Lost in Translation (2003), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Just Friends (2005), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Smiley Face (2007), The House Bunny (2008), What's Your Number? (2011), The Dictator (2012), and Overboard (2018).
Love Actually is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The Christmas film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous projects. An international co-production of the United Kingdom, United States, and France, it was mostly filmed on-location in London. The film delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are interlinked as the plot progresses. The story begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place in the New Year.
Working Title Films Limited is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. Bevan and Eric Fellner are now the co-chairmen of the company.
Rhys Owain Evans, known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor. His portrayed roles in Notting Hill (1999), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), and Enduring Love (2004), in addition to Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Grigori Rasputin in The King's Man (2021). His television roles include Hector DeJean in the Epix thriller series Berlin Station, Mycroft Holmes in the CBS series Elementary, and Otto Hightower in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, singer and producer. Known for her performances spanning multiple genres of film and television, her work in the horror and thriller genres have established her as a scream queen. Roberts has received various accolades including a Young Artist Award, an MTV Movie & TV Award, and a ShoWest Award.
Stepmom is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Wendy Finerman, Mark Radcliffe, and Michael Barnathan. The screenplay was written by Gigi Levangie, Jessie Nelson, Steven Rogers, Karen Leigh Hopkins, and Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. Its plot follows a terminally ill woman dealing with her ex-husband's new lover, who will soon be their children's stepmother.
Emma Gwynedd Mary Chambers was an English actress. She played Alice Tinker in the BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley and Honey Thacker in the film Notting Hill (1999).
Anna Maxwell Martin, sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a British actress. She won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House (2005) and N in the Channel 4 adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare (2008). She is also known for her roles as DCS Patricia Carmichael in BBC One crime drama Line of Duty (2019–2021) and Kelly Major in Code 404 (2020–2022). From 2016-2022, Martin starred in the BBC comedy Motherland, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.
Roger Harry Michell was a British theatre, television and film director. He was best known for directing films such as Notting Hill and Venus, as well as the 1995 made-for-television film Persuasion.
A communal garden is a garden for shared use by a number of local residents, typically in an urban setting. The term is especially used in the United Kingdom. The centre of many city squares and crescents are maintained as communal gardens.
La Mariée is a 1950 painting on canvas, measuring 68×53 cm, by Belarusian-French artist Marc Chagall. It is held in a private collection in Japan.
Hugh Grant is an English actor. His career spans four decades. He has been recognised as an international film star since 1994, and has received a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award. His films have collectively grossed more than $2.4 billion worldwide.
↑ Schwartz, Dennis (29 November 2000). "Notting Hill". Ozus' World Movie Reviews. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
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