Notting Hill 1999 directed by Roger Michell British

Notting Hill (1999) directed by Roger Michell British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London

Contents n n Basic information Plot summary Key vocabulary Oral practice exercises

Basic Information Anna Scott Julia Roberts A internationally renown Hollywood film star. She meets Will when she comes into his book shop whilst shopping in Notting Hill. William Thacker Hugh Grant A recently divorced owner of a small travel book shop in Notting Hill. He meets Anna Scott when she comes in to look for a book.

Basic Information Spike Rhys Ifans Honey Thacker Emma Will's ditzy younger sister, she Chambers is a huge fan of Anna Scott. Will's Welsh "out there" flatmate, who dreams of being an succesful artist. In the film he is described by Will as "the stupidest person in the world".

Plot Summary n n n William Thacker (Hugh Grant) owns a travel bookstore. His business is stagnant, he has the roommate from hell and since his divorce, his love life is completely nonexistent. For both, something or someone seems to be missing. And when Anna and William’s paths unexpectedly cross in the neighborhood of Notting Hill, romance is the last thing on their minds. The couple comes to face the ultimate question: Can two people fall in love with the whole world watching? The charming romantic comedy which proves that love can spring from even the most unlikely circumstances.

Key vocabulary n Vocabulary Handout

Oral exercises 1. How do you like the story? Do you believe in “love at first sight”? 2. Why do you think Anna the big star could fall in love with a commoner William? 3. Do you think that in a more realistic sense, William and Anne can “live happily ever after”? 4. Do you want to be famous? Why or why not? What are the best things and the worst things about being famous? 5. What do you think is （are）the theme(s) of Notting Hill?

Theme 1：love n n n The main theme of Notting Hill, of course, is romantic love – and particularly the power of love to unite people with different lifestyles and from opposite sides of the world. Besides the blossoming romance between Anna and William, other characters in the story are used to explore theme of love: Max and Bella’s love for each other enables them to retain a strong and loving marriage despite Bella’s disability and their inability to have children. And Honey’s decision to get married to Spike shows us that even less attractive and even strange people can find love which is as wonderful and important as anyone’s.

Theme 2： Friendship n n n Friendship is another important theme in this story. William’s group of interesting and amusing friends support him through his difficult relationship with Anna, and it is his friends who finally persuade him to ask Anna for another chance. The final scene, where the friends pull their resources together and frantically drive William through London in order to meet Anna before she disappears to America for ever, is a typical instance of friendship.

Theme 3： Fame n n Through the character of Anna Scott, the director explores both the positive and negative aspects of fame. When Anna is competing for the last slice of cake at Honey’s birthday party, the group of friends (and so the reader) gets a rare glimpse of the loneliness and difficulty of stardom. Anna can only ever experience short moments of privacy, and she has to prevent herself from opening up and talking honestly with most people.

Theme 4：Humor n n n Some of the humor is achieved through the amusing characters, such as Spike and Honey. William, too, has an amusing charm about him which Anna finds attractive. But the most successful humor in the story comes from the writer placing his characters in awkward and inappropriate situations and then inventing amusing ways for them to escape. William’s attempts at impersonating a Horse and Hound reporter and a hotel worker are good examples.