The Holiday

Meyers (What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give) is undoubtedly the queen of  romantic comedies. And whilst The Holiday lacks the edge of her previous two films, it was for me delightfully romantic, albeit formulaic, escapist entertainment. There’s lots to love about this film, starting with the plot that so many men and women can relate to. Iris is the archetypal naïve lovelorn woman who allows herself to be walked all over and manipulated by her ex who doesn’t seem to want to totally let go. Amanda is the driven woman for whom work is everything, and who is really trying to avoid love, but not sex. Miles is the sweet composer, who always falls for hot women who don’t really want him, while Graham, though devastatingly gorgeous in every respect, has some serious baggage in his life. But possibly the best character is Arthur, an ex-screenwriter from the Hollywood Golden Era, and the friendship that evolves between him and Iris is incredibly sweet.

The script is peppered with clever lines, some touching, some funny and all very honest – the sort of lines that make the audience nod to themselves and say “Yep! Met that sort of character before” or “Been there!”. Complementing the clever script is the spot-on casting. Winslett  (Finding Neverland, Quills), has the lovely softness and vulnerability of an English rose, and it’s a lot of fun to see her character strengthen as if by osmosis she absorbs the strength of Amanda.  Diaz (Charlies’ Angels, In Her Shoes) is, as always, stunningly sexy, and as always does physical comedy very well., though at times her character is almost overplayed. But in the scenes with Law the chemistry absolutely sizzles. Law (Cold Mountain, Breaking and Entering) gives a swoon-worthy performance as Graham, with plenty of gentleness, sexiness and playfulness. It’s a treat to see Jack Black (School of Rock) doing something different, and though he’s no romantic leading man, it actually works to have him a little more serious than usual, but still with plenty of good-natured humour in his character.  Eli Wallach has a six-decade career. Here he’s perfect as modest Arthur, with his performance bringing laughs and lumps to the throat. Rufus Sewell (Dark City, A Knight’s Tale) excels as the smooth bastard who manipulates while remaining charming. 

There’s lovely visual contrast between Iris’s charming snow-dusted thatched English cottage with little space and humble interior, and Amanda’s high-tech enormous mansion in sunny Los Angeles. Arthur’s house is also beautifully recreated with the glamour of old Hollywood in its interiors. As entertainment I found The Holiday exceptionally enchanting, and was delighted to see such an unashamedly romantic film. What disappoints however is the predictable narrative arc, especially the ending, which one can see coming a mile off. Still, for lovers and those seeking a bit of fluff for the holidays, it’s worth a look.

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