Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The Girl in the Cafe, film by Richard Curtis


Bill Nighy is one of my favorite British actors, so when I saw this one I checked it out.  Kelly Macdonald plays opposite him.

Bill portrays "mild mannered Lawrence" who works as a civil servant, dedicated to his work, known for his knowledge of "facts and figures", but with no life outside of his work.  At lunch one day, he wanders over to the only table he might be able to sit at with a "quiet" young woman, he politely inquires if he might sit at the table with her as all the other tables are full - she does not refuse, so down he sits, and away this story goes. 
Lawrence is "smitten" over Gina, his antics are quite humorous, especially considering his lack of "woman knowledge".

As a member of the group representing the British government attending the G-8 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, Lawrence is allowed to invite a guest to travel with him, so invites Gina. Co-workers' eyebrows go up, when Gina boards the plane with him.  Little does Lawrence know that Gina might be his undoing at the summit.

Bill and Kelly are really well paired in this film.

This film was well worth watching - one sitting, non-stop - and VERY thought-provoking, as the subject matter is World Poverty. Richard Curtis, obviously, made a very thorough attempt to have his facts and figures pretty accurate.  Makes one wonder what it will take for the "have" countries to really make a difference for the "have-not" countries. 

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