I rewatched this movie last night and absolutely loved it all over again. Bill Nighy and Kelly McDonald are two of my favorite actors, so to see them paired up is absolutely delightful.
The Girl in the Cafe was a 2005 British made-for-television drama which received seven nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards, where it won Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Curtis, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Macdonald.
The plot doesn't sound exciting -
Lawrence (Bill Nighy), a civil servant working for the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Ken Stott), falls in love with Gina (Kelly Macdonald), a young woman he meets by chance in a London café. Lawrence takes Gina to a G8 summit in Reykjavík, Iceland, where she confronts the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Corin Redgrave) over the issue of third world debt and poverty in Africa, much to Lawrence's embarrassment and the anger of his employers. However, he realises that she is right and tries to help persuade the Chancellor and others at the summit to do something about the issues concerned.
- and it's not. But the acting is superb. Tonight I'm planning to watch the director's cut, with a voiceover by the director and the writer.
I was also intrigued by the musical background during the opening and closing credits. Here it is:
Great film. Thanks for recommending.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link to this beautiful movie, have always loved Bill Nighy, he didn't let me down....
ReplyDeleteDamien Rice will be known to many of your readers. I've seen him live a couple of times. Rice wrote beautiful, delicate music, together with Lisa Hannigan. As well as fellow artists, they were in a relationship, that eventually ended in pain, and neither has recreated the heights of their joint work.
ReplyDeleteExcellent movie, superb acting and cinematography, but of course the story is a fantasy. The political leaders of every country are not concerned with starving children, only with retaining power.
ReplyDeleteWhy yes, I am disgusted with the leadership in the world.
xoxoxoBruce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fEUUnXDnbk
ReplyDelete0:00 / 6:46
Starálfur by Sigur Rós is also used in this lovely film.
My comments never show up here. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou got me googling, and I found this remarkable Florence & the Machine video with Nighy as a character. stick to the end. There's a surprise. https://youtu.be/ui8kUKuLBaU
Thanks for the recommendation(s). It seems you’re on a Bill Nighy kick. My wife LOVES him and just watched a film called Sometimes Always Never. Her absolute fav is About Time.
ReplyDeleteAnd Damien Rice, as another commenter said, is amazing. That song was immediately recognizable. When the female voice comes in, water emits from the middle of my face every time. The vocalist is named Lisa Hannigan and she has an amazing recording portfolio as well.
This song makes me happy: https://youtu.be/7WwaPv1rZiQ
Next Nighy gig: Pride [2014] A group of London LGB activists work to help Welsh miners during their lengthy mineworkers strike in the summer of 1984.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt3169706/