CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

KexUK One of the best films I have ever seen! A beautiful, sensitive and acutely observant expose of English attitudes and protocols. . It's actually secondary that the background subject matter of the plot is so vitally important in our modern world. . The interplay of nuance between the lead characters is a charmingly captivating carousel of attraction and inspiration. .Yes, I give it 10. 10 because it was a totally intelligent and enjoyable surprise.Well acted and beautifully produced. Enchantingly written by Richard Curtis like all good magic it will envelop you in it's reality.

Benedict_Cumberbatch This surprising made-for-TV dramedy, written by Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") and directed by David Yates ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"), shows that the simplest ideas sometimes give us the best movies. Lawrence (Bill Nighy) is a lonely civil servant that invites a young woman he met in a café, Gina (Kelly Macdonald), to join him at the G8 Summit in Iceland. What he didn't expect is that the introspective Gina would speak up to his superiors about what she thinks they should decide/worry about.I've been a fan of Bill Nighy for a while now; he can be funny ("Love Actually"), hateful ("The Constant Gardener") and moving ("Notes on a Scandal"), but it was this movie that made me say to myself: what a tremendous actor. His subtle, multi-layered performance is the soul of the movie. Kelly Macdonald, that great character actress from "Trainspotting", "Gosford Park" and "No Country for Old Men", among others, also makes Gina a believable and adorable character (I disagree with what she says about Björk being the "coolest woman on the planet", but I agree with most of her ideas). "The Girl in the Café" won the Emmy for Outstanding Made-for-TV Movie, and both Nighy and Macdonald were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances.Don't avoid this thinking it's a TV-movie-of-the-week sort, because it's better than most flicks that hit the multiplexes. Otherwise, you'll miss a real gem. 8.5/10.

jaredmobarak David Yates' UK television film The Girl in the Café shows what is capable of being made across the Atlantic for the small screen. Whereas in America we get movie of the weeks and after school special morality tales, the British prove that TV should not be looked upon as inferior to the silver screen. Kudos to HBO for seeing the quality put into this tale and releasing it on its channel; I guess airing on a pay channel means a bit more than debuting on network TV in the public's eyes. Finally I see the talent that Yates has, after being quite under-whelmed with his latest entry to the Harry Potter franchise. Let's give mention to screenwriter Richard Curtis, as well though, for his words are what make the film as powerful as it is—with a little help from its two leading actors as vessels for them.We have an older gentlemen, a financial researcher for the Chancellor of England, who, on a break from his hectic all work no play life, meets a young girl in a café. The two have an awkward moment drinking tea and coffee respectively and eventually make a date to meet again for lunch. This relationship is portrayed as strangely as it would be in real life. The older man doesn't quite know what the woman's motives are; does she see him as a friend, a father figure, or a lover? With that kind of confusion, each moment with the two of them is an adventure of uncomfortable tension, sexually and emotionally. This aspect is very integral to the way in which the film plays out, and with lesser actors, it could have failed miserably. Thankfully we have the radiant Kelly MacDonald and the consummate professional Bill Nighy. In a role that is the exact opposite to his part in Curtis' Love Actually, complete with a dream telling of a life he wished to have lived being the one he does in that film, Nighy is remarkable as the isolated businessman who has lost his way in social situations. The ticks we are used to seeing in his performances are very prevalent and his skittishness around the girl he is falling for is true and real. As for MacDonald, she never strays from the broken woman she is playing. We learn very little about her character's past, but what we do find out tells us the reasons for everything she does. Sometimes fate has a way of playing tricks on us. Both these people needed each other at that point in their lives to show them how to live again in a world that is on the quick spiral down the drain. Her past makes it seem as though what she does was premeditated, but "the facts aren't there." Her being thrust into the situations she becomes privy to is coincidence, and she would not be able to live with herself if she didn't try and take advantage.What I originally thought would be a pretty cut and dry love story ends up being very much more. The bond forged between our two leads is paramount to what transpires if only to allow us to understand how it could have been able to go as far as it does. We don't ever get to know if what MacDonald's character says will have any bearing on the G8 Conference she has been at, but that is the only ending I could ever see as fitting the film that lies before it. Through all the turmoil of a love affair between two people around 30 years apart in age, we are also given the strife of the world trying to come up with a plan to stop poverty. The politics are a huge part of the tale and while it does push an agenda, it does it in a way that progresses the plot. This is not a message movie for that effect alone; it is a tale of love and awakening in the world of political agendas and meetings. For that I credit all involved, because they never fall into the trap of patronizing or forcing the audience in any way. What is instead shown is a powerful film of the meaning of morals and right and wrong and how unexpected meetings can change the course of history. With one of the most emotional endings in a movie that I have seen in some time, it is also the sweetest little gem of cinema I've enjoyed during that same duration.

ron-oneto-1 Both Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald did a superb job playing their parts. The emotions they brought out were a credit to their outstanding abilities. I do wish that both would star in many more movies together, their interaction would get them an academy award every time. Words fail to describe their excellent portrayals of their characters: the reclusive, dedicated civil servant Lawence (Bill Nighy) and the beautiful, tender, mysterious Gina (Kelly Macdonald). Kelly Macdonald accent was so sexy and innocent that all she had to do was talk. What a love story.Think there are a lot of overpaid actors and actresses that could take some lessons from these two. Thank you Richard Curtis for the screen play and thank you David Yates for bring us this movie with such a marvelous cast.