An Exercise In Nonsense

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The Girl in the Café is a British TV movie that stars Bill Nighy as Lawrence, a mild and unprepossessing British civil servant and Kelly MacDonald as Gina,a young woman whom Lawrence has met in a café.It was written by Richard Curtis and directed by David Yates.The film tells the story of Lawrence, a civil servant working for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who falls in love with Gina, a young woman whom 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 over the issue of third world debt and poverty in Africa, much to Lawrence's embarrassment and the anger of his employers. However, he realizes that she is right and tries to help persuade the Chancellor and others at the summit to do something about the issues concerned.The burgeoning relationship between these two seemingly mismatched souls is obscured by egomania, xenophobia, and foot-dragging. Ultimately, the time comes when both Lawrence and Gina must make crucial decisions, with not only their own future but also the future of humankind in the balance.This is one fun and entertaining film about life, love and most amazingly how one person can make a difference in the world. Also,it has a lot of laughs and a great message about the present times.And most of all, Nighy and Macdonald have never been better than in their work here as they carry the film effectively.

A rating of 6 instead of lower primarily because Bill Nighy's portrayal of Lawrence is so interesting. He is a grab bag of facial ticks, lurching movements, evasions, and self-deprecations, yet at bottom he is also surprisingly cynical about what he does for a living. I suppose Nighy could be criticized for over-acting, but I enjoyed watching him.It's interesting, too, to watch the slow, halting, awkward development of a relationship between Lawrence and the girl Gina.Then, halfway through the film, comes the great disillusionment. We watch Gina heedlessly lecture first the Chancellor of the Exchequer, then his German counterpart, and finally the Prime Minister as he delivers a smarmy speech during a formal dinner with two or three dozen bigwigs and their spouses in attendance. Heedless, because this amounts to the certain destruction of Lawrence's career.There is absolutely no preparation for this behavior. There is the suggestion somewhere in the movie that Gina is a plant, representing a protest group, but in fact it was Lawrence who chose to sit at her table in the cafe to start with.As for what Gina has to say about the condition of children in poverty--it's certainly true, but the likelihood is zero that this impertinent girl, however sincere, could influence policy as she ultimately does in the film.Ah, but consider the alternative. She could have kept her mouth shut, and the movie ends with Lawrence and Gina glad to have had the time together in Iceland but sadly forced to admit that they are too different ever to make a go of it. A downer of an ending, but a lot more believable than the way the film actually ends.

This movie is a gem. It starts off on a simple premise, a shy older man meeting equally shy young woman, and having them slowly and painfully develop a relationship. You learn a lot about the older man, but the young woman is a mystery, her character unrevealed, but half way through the movie she starts to assert herself, and her character then comes out and takes the movie on a completely unexpected direction.Lawrence is so shy and awkward he is almost a parody but Bill Nighy manages to present the character in an open and expressive way that is believable and interesting. So many of these types of characters are presented as repressed, which stifles the actor and makes the character less attractive but Lawrence honestly and openly shows his inner turmoil which makes the character very appealing.Gina is also shy, but as presented by Kelly Macdonald there is much more than that going on. She seems to be in pain, and her shyness is mixed with fear. Her vulnerability enhances her attractiveness, and Lawrence cannot stop thinking about her. We never quite find out why she is attracted to him, but the attraction between the two characters is strong and believable, and forms the core of this movie.As is usual in movies from the UK, the supporting roles are not just simple stereotypes but fully formed complex characters giving the actors who play them a lot to work with, and they all succeed in beautifully bringing all these characters to life.If you like your movies simple, well written, beautifully acted, you will enjoy this. I really enjoyed it. I hope the producer does a sequel because I would like to spend some more time with Gina and Lawrence.

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.