THIS YEAR'S LOVE
UK, 1999, 95 minutes, Colour.
Kathy Burke, Dougray Scott, Douglas Henshall, Jennifer Ehle, Catherine Mc Cormack, Ian Hart, Emily Woof.
Directed by David Kane.
This Year's Love is a 1990s version of La Ronde, middle-class English style. With ordinary London settings, six people fall in and out of love. They each have middle-class or lower middle-class backgrounds, which means that the film is geared to the average audience in the British population.
Kathy Burke is the seemingly unattractive cleaner at Heathrow, a would-be singer. Kathy Burke had already won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award in 1997 for Nil By Mouth and had appeared in many British films and television, especially the Kevin and Perry series. Dougray Scott had appeared in Ever After and was the villain in Mission Impossible 2. Catherine Mc Cormack had appeared in Braveheart as well as in many plays on the London stage. She was to come into greater international prominence with films like The Tailor of Panama and Spy Game. Jennifer Ehle had been Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice. David Kane was to direct a similar kind of film with an ensemble British cast (including Catherine McCormack) in Born Romantic.
1. The appeal of the film for a British audience? Twenty- and thirtysomethings? The ordinary middle class and falling in and out of love?
2. The La Ronde structure of the film: the initial pairs, the time passing and changing of partners, the final relationships? The use of chance and coincidence?
3. The London settings, ordinary homes, shops, streets, markets, clubs? The musical score, the range of songs? The final song sung by Kathy Bourke and its lyrics?
4. The background of the six central characters, homes and family, jobs, in and out of work, in and out of digs? Their seeking for relationships, something permanent? Or not?
5. The moral perspective of the film, people and their franker attitudes towards relationships and sexuality, yet a seeking for something more permanent? Hurting other people, hurting themselves?
6. The opening, Daniel and Hannah in bed, the wedding day, hurrying to the wedding, the ceremony, the dinner, the enjoyment, Hannah's best friend revealing the truth about her relationship with her husband, Daniel's anger, storming out, the 35-minute wedding?
7. Hannah, her being hurt, hurting Daniel? Still in love with him? Her moving to new digs, meeting Liam, their friendship, his infatuation with her, her not being able to reciprocate, his attempted suicide? Her working in her dress shop? The chance encounter with the customer who had the dream, relationships, the lesbian experimentation? Feminist perspective? The meeting, his attitudes, his love for Hannah, their breaking up? The encounter again with Daniel, working in the supermarket, his apology, proposal, the ticket for the honeymoon, the frustration of not being able to get to Heathrow, the finale and the happy ending, reunited? Daniel and his short temper, his being a tattooist, his shop, running out of money, being thrown out? His meeting with Mary, the relationship with her, seeming to be some fulfilment, the clash, his temper, Mary not wanting to see him again? The meeting with Sophie, the relationship, impermanent? Coming to his senses, going back to Hannah?
8. Cameron, in the pub, the Personals column, playing with people's affections, not washing? Staring at Hannah? His relationship with her, coming to nothing, the encounter with Mary, her criticisms of him, seemingly a future, her recognising his selfishness? The encounter with Sophie, her falling in love, taking him to see her parents, the awkwardness of the situation, her falling in love with someone else and breaking off with him? His being back in the bar, with the Personals, eyeing off the women? His callow attitudes - any future?
9. Liam, his nervousness, by himself, sharing with Cameron, the friendship with Hannah, becoming infatuated with her? The attempted suicide? Work, the passing of time, helping Mary at the airport, the relationship, the seeming mutual love, going to the clubs, his madness, possessiveness, the background of the breakdown? His friendship with Sophie, its not going anywhere? His being left on his own, no future?
10. Mary, the work at Heathrow, Daniel giving her the ticket for the honeymoon, their friendship, relationship, her meeting Cameron, her meeting Liam? Unlucky in relationships, poor self-image, Cameron trying to help her? In the band, her singing?
11. The London backgrounds, shops, customers, clubs, patrons, bands, Heathrow, passengers? A sense of realism as background for this kind of story?
