|
The Girl in the Cafe
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Bill Nighy
Genre:
Romance/Comedy
Run Time: 94
min.
Release Date:
June 2005
On The Web:
Unofficial Site
Teaser: No Trailer Available
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
I love watching Bill Nighy.
He’s got the emotional range most actors envy. Doubt this? Try watching
SHAUN OF THE
DEAD and then LOVE ACTUALLY and you’ll see what I mean.
He can be dry as a bone one minute (Shaun of the Dead) and funnily
spirited the next (Love Actually).
So when I learned that he’d been in an Emmy winning TV movie, I leapt at
the chance to see it.
THE GIRL IN THE CAFÉ is your basic character story with some fine acting
...if a bit stilted. The stilted feel really isn’t that big of a
surprise considering this was a made-for-TV flick. Although there was
some nudity (which I’m sure was not shown on U.S. television and saved
for DVD), the story does have that prime-time feel to it rather than big
screen chops.
The story is that of Lawrence (Bill Nighy) and Gina (Kelly Macdonald),
two lonely souls who meet one day in a café. Lawrence works for the
government as an analyst who’s preparing for the G8 summit in Iceland.
Gina is ...well ...we’re not quite sure in the beginning what Gina does.
But she’s attractive and Lawrence and she chat briefly during the lunch
hour. They arrange a second “date” and meet later that week. Lawrence
confides much of his job to Gina, telling her about Britain’s battle to
lead the fight against third world poverty and AIDS, but also mixing his
own sense of defeat into the conversation, knowing that much of what
he’s doing will be bartered down to almost nil come summit-time talks.
Gina seems to take most of this in stride, hardly raising an eyebrow at
the horrors of money over meals that Lawrence feeds her mind. That is
until Lawrence invites her to accompany him to Iceland for the G8 talks.
Time and again Gina opens her mouth during high-level dinners and lets
spew her mind about the number of dead and dying in third world
countries that Lawrence told her in confidence. Battling his job versus
his growing attraction for Gina, Lawrence risks all by keeping her at
his side.
In the end we learn that Gina’s past is directly connected with death
and that she’s not working because of her recent release from prison.
Although Kelly Macdonald does an admirable job as the lost but vocal
Gina, her lines seemed overly-rehearsed or set to a teleprompter, while
Billy Nighy delivers his in an uncomfortable fashion befitting a man who
has poor woman skills.
The dangers of losing oneself in a thankless job are hit hard within the
film’s framework, while also showing the battle we forge when trying to
form bonds with those of the opposite sex. All of this is done with the
G8 Summit looming heavily in the political background, making for some
strikingly nervous dialogue that you know will be coming from Gina as
the film continues.
In the end, this is a good made-for-TV film that Bill Nighy fans should
check out.
(back to top) |
Image from The Girl in the
Cafe
DVD cost: $21.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Nominated for eight awards
at six different award shows, THE GIRL IN THE CAFE also won the Emmy for
Outstanding Made For TV Movie.
Movie Quote: "I've
been pretending to be dead since 1am. But I'm still alive."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Girl in the Cafe
   |
