2. Love Actually Themes
• LOVE
• Love is the primary theme that runs throughout the
entire film. It is incorporated into all the sub-plots
within the film and helps develop key concepts and
values. With all the variety of sub-plots each
character has different personality traits that allow
the audience to identify with them on a personal level
or on a situational level. Love is a very important
aspect of the film and most of it’s messages and
values spawn from this central theme of love. It also
explores a while range of love types
3. Billy Mac & Joe
• The relationship we see between Billy Mac and his manager
Joe is not the most conventional and can at times seem
rather harsh.
• Billy Mac is unable to realise that Joe is a loyal and caring
character, only trying to do what’s best for Billy. Billy is blind
to this till the very end of the story line between them when
his single hits number one. Billy realises how much Joe has
done for him and tells Joe that he’s the love of his life.
• A sense of appreciation for what other do for you is raised,
making audience members aware that love can come in
many different form. It can exist between anyone and it
should be realised. Billy’s story highlights this notion
perfectly.
4. Juliet, Peter and Mark
• Juliet, Peter and Mark’s story is one of the two ‘sad’
endings within the film with love running throughout.
Juliet and Peter are married and Mark is the best man
with a very big secret – Mark loves Juliet. When Juliet
finds out Mark finds it hard to tell her it’s true. At the
end of the story line Mark does confess his love for
her but sadly she is happy with Peter and sends Mark
on his way. This highlights a very deep sadness that is
usually associated with love. Sending message to the
audience saying that you can’t always have the
people you love due to certain circumstances. This
also extends the message that love can be good but it
can be brutally hurtful at the same time.
5. Jamie and Aurelia
• Jamie’s Story starts in a very depressing manner, with him
and his girlfriend deciding not to go Peter and Juliet’s
wedding. Sadly Jamie catches his girlfriend sleeping with his
brother. Jamie is crushed by this a decides to retreat to his
Cottage in France to clear his head. There he meets Aurelia
and falls in love with her. When he goes back to England
and learns her language and travels back to France. He
confesses his love for her and asks her to marry him.
• This Story line seems to complete contrast both the good
and the bad of love, proving it to be an emotional
rollercoaster ride. Jamie starts with the bad and feel he will
never be happy again to which he does a complete U-turn
and fall in love going from happy to sad to happy again.
• This shows love to be adventurous and unpredictable and
no matter how bad things look it can always surprise you.
6. Harry, Karen and Mia
• Harry, Karen and Mia’s story is not very happy and does not
show love in a very good light. Harry is cheating on his wife
with his secretary Mia. For Christmas he buy Mia a very
expensive piece of neck-piece for which Karen believes is for
her but ends up being for Mia. When Karen finds out about
the affair she stay quite about it and lets it go on. This brings
up the idea of dying love and how some people don’t love
forever. It also show a sense of entrapment for even though
the person you love is doing bad things you don’t stop them
because you love them. Karen is trapped in a relationship
knowing that Harry will never truly love her again.
7. David and Natalie
• David has recently be elected as Prime Minister, to
which he arrives to 10 downing street and falls in love
with a new Junior member of staff that works in
downing street. They fall in love with one another and
even though they are from very different worlds they
are still able to have a relationship. This shows that
love can exists between any two people