Disclaimer: Unfortunately, writing about why certain movies move me the way they do without actually giving away the ending is not an easy task. And since none of my favorite movies are currently in theaters, I plan to talk about endings when the situation warrants it. I'll experiment with using a green font when speaking about the ending though—so if you've never seen one of these movies, but would like to after reading one of these posts, you'll know to stop reading when you see green wording.
#3: Notting Hill, starring Hugh Grant (as William Thacker) and Julia Roberts as (Anna Scott). Released in 1999.“And so it was just another hopeless Wednesday as I walked a thousand yards through the market to work—never suspecting that this was the day that was going to change my life forever.”
When Anna Scott (a famous actress) walks into William Thacker’s travel book shop, he doesn’t overreact. He helps her find a book, and then watches her walk out of the store. But after he goes to get a cup of coffee, he runs into her—literally and she winds up back at his apartment to get cleaned up. That’s when he tries, but fails, to catch her interest. I suspect that most single guys would have tried the same thing.
She shoots him down, but then kisses him—completely out of nowhere and it leaves him speechless. Turns out, she’s desperate for normalcy—for a regular family, a regular social scene with people who aren’t just taking or demanding things from her, a regular relationship. But nothing she has or does is regular. She has a ridiculous schedule and very little time for anything normal.
William invites her to his sister’s birthday party, but fears that it might be too lame. She loves the idea and jumps at the chance. She sits down at the table with William’s sister, Honey, and his friends; Bernie, Max, and Bella. Anna watches them smile, and joke, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company and it appears to be the most satisfying moment she’s ever experienced, but it also awakens something within her that has been sleeping a long time—a desire for community.
They begin to fall for each other, but they have a problem. Anna has a boyfriend she hasn’t told him about and she realizes that she’s with the wrong guy, but by then William’s heart it broken and they lose contact. Months pass, but when trouble strikes Anna’s life, she turns to William and he can’t resist helping her. As she hides from the media, they reach a level of comfort in which they are able to sit in his living room as he reads the newspaper and she reads a script for an upcoming movie. But that doesn’t last long. She casts William aside—again.
Later, she does it again and that’s it for William.
She stops by his bookstore and this conversation transpires:
“The thing is…the thing is…” Anna said.
“What? What is the thing?” William said.
“I have to go away today. But I wondered if I didn’t, whether you might let me see you a little, or a lot maybe? See if you could like me again?”
“But yesterday that actor asked you who I was and you just dismissed me out of hand,” William said. “I heard. You had a microphone. I had headphones.”
“Do you expect me to tell the truth about my life to the most indiscrete man in England?”
“Anna, look. I’m a fairly level-headed bloke—not often in and out of love, but can I just say no to your kind request and leave it at that?”
“Yes. Fine. Of course. I...of course. Well, I’ll just be going then. It was nice to see you.”
“The thing is…with you I’m in real danger. It seems like a perfect situation—apart from that foul temper of yours—but, my relatively inexperienced heart, would I fear, not recover if I was once again cast aside, as I would absolutely expect to be. There are just too many pictures of you. Too many films. You’d go and I’d be, well buggered basically.”
“That really is a real no, isn’t it?”
“I live in Notting Hill, you live in Beverly Hills. Everyone in the world knows who you are. My mother has trouble remembering my name.”
“Fine. Fine. Good decision. Good decision. The fame thing isn’t really real you know. And don’t forget, I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. Bye.”
This scene runs through my mind often. I’m the type of person who would have jumped at her offer, but I would have been wrong to do so. She didn’t respect William and he knew it. She used him, took him for granted, and assumed he’d always be there. She was wrong. He let her walk out of the bookstore and that was the best thing he could have done.
He chases her down later, and with all the press watching, he questions her about their relationship. She provides the answer he’s looking for and they finally get together. So the movie has the happy ending that so many people seem to insist upon, but that one crucial moment transcends the movie.
Anybody who has ever grasped too tightly to a relationship, only to watch it die as a result, knows that William’s actions were right. And anybody who has ever allowed himself to be mistreated, hoping that appeasement wins somebody's heart, knows that William’s actions were right. That hardest part is following through. But the results can be so rewarding.
Previous posts in this series:
#4, Rocky
#5, Elizabethtown
#6, Luther
#7, Serendipity
#8, Message in a Bottle
#9, A Walk to Remember
#10, In Love and War
