Four Weddings & a Funeral (1994)

The best of the romantic comedies written by Richard Curtis. The script and narrative are tighter and sharper, so there’s not the messy sprawl of Love Actually. 

The story revolves around a group of friends, who we only meet via the sequence of formal rites-of-passage events alluded to in the title. It’s expertly constructed, with what seem like throwaway lines thrown in early on ending up having a neat pay-off later. 

Hugh Grant is extremely watchable – at his charming-but-nervous best. Has anyone ever done “flustered” better than him? Andie McDowell is suitably aloof and exotic as the mysterious American visitor who attracts his attention. 

The only character that doesn’t quite work is Scarlet (Charlotte Coleman). I assumed she was Charles’ sister but it turns out she’s only his flatmate. On the plus side, Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow, John Hannah and Rowan Atkinson are all excellent.

The Hurricane (1999)

Directed and produced by Norman Jewison, this is a biopic of the boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who was falsely imprisoned for a New Jersey murder because of racial prejudice. 

Denzel Washington is excellent in the main role, with a compelling intensity that makes him highly watchable. Vicellous Reon Shannon is good, too, as Lesra Martin – the young man who identifies with Rubin and befriends him after reading his autobiography. Unfortunately, the secondary plot about the boy’s carers – a group of three Canadians who help him get a fair trial – is leaden and awkward. When we see them pinning notes on their noticeboard that say things like “Liar” and “Guilty”, it becomes clunky and almost laughable. It’s as if there are two films badly sandwiched together – a hugely powerful character study that elegantly tackles weighty themes, and a rather pedestrian B-movie about some amateur investigators. Even more odd is that it’s never explained why the three Canadians live together. What’s their domestic arrangement? Are they romantically connected? Friends? Members of a liberal communal-living project? On the plus side, you get to hear Bob Dylan’s song “Hurricane” and even see an archive clip of Bob himself. 

It’s a shame it’s all a bit of a mess, because the best parts – such as Hurricane talking about transcending his confinement – are genuinely inspiring.

Sliding Doors (1998)

Intriguing romantic drama about a parallel-universe “What if?” life split in two. Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah are convincing in the lead roles, but the actors playing her cheating slimy boyfriend and his ludicrous mistress are terribly hammy. The boyfriend could have been evil but charming, but instead he’s just hopelessly unappealing so you have no idea why two women would like him so much – a major flaw. Plus, there’s a lot of swearing. On the plus side, Paltrow, an American, sustains an English accent. It’s set in west London and there are familiar landmarks aplenty. The potentially confusing mirror storylines work well in tandem and the film even manages a satisfying ending, which you would guess would be impossible. It “makes you think” as well as being entertaining.