Movie – Possession (2002)

Possession is a very romantic drama.  It is a smaller movie that got a little lost between more commercial movies Gwyneth Paltrow did like Shallow Hal and Austin Powers.  It is probably the most traditionally romantic movie of the four where she played a Brit.  It is also quite an intelligent mystery story that keeps the film moving along as clues are uncovered.

Movie – Shakespeare in Love (1998)

This movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1999.  Among others it beat out Steven Spielberg’s movie Saving Private Ryan.  There was some carping over this as people asked how this little romantic comedy/drama could beat out a big budget war movie with big D-Day battle scenes and Tom Hanks in it.  Some people complained that the makers of Shakespeare in Love actually campaigned for the award, as if every other movie maker hadn’t done the same.  I am here to tell you that the reason that Shakespeare in Love won the Best Picture Oscar is that it is a truly great film.  In fact, it is second only to Schindler’s List as the best film of the entire 1990s.

Movie – Sliding Doors (1998)

People tend to think it’s the big decisions in their lives that have the largest impact.  In reality, it’s the moment to moment things that happen that can have huge consequences.  Have you ever paused to think “What if?”  “What if I hadn’t stopped to buy a coffee and met the love of my life?”  “What if I hadn’t gotten off on the wrong track?  Would my life have turned out better?”  Well, Sliding Doors takes a look at one of those moments in the life of a young woman and shows you both outcomes.

Movie – Emma (1996)

When Alicia Silverstone’s movie Clueless came out in 1995, it was quite popular.  The writer/director Amy Heckerling was asked how she came up with the idea and she confessed that she had basically just taken Jane Austen’s book Emma and put it in a modern setting.  That caused interest in the book and the very next year a new version of Emma was filmed.  Along with the 1995 Sense and Sensibility movie this caused a huge revival in popularity for Jane Austen.

Movies where Gwyneth Paltrow is British

“She says ‘Mummy’ instead of ‘Mommy.’  I don’t mind that.  I will if she starts saying ‘basil’ and ‘pasta’ the English way, as that really drives me nuts.” – Gwyneth Paltrow, on her daughter Apple’s accent

For the record, Gwyneth Paltrow was born and raised in California, with some schooling on the east coast.  She has played British characters in several movies, though.  She also married a Brit and has a home in England with him, as well as one in California.

The British are notoriously intolerant of any actor or actress that attempts to do one of their many accents and does not get it absolutely perfect.  Paltrow seems to have passed muster with them.  Contrast this with Americans, who have no problem accepting Cary Grant’s accent, or even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s.  Of course, being from Maine I notice it immediately if someone tries to do a downeast accent and gets it wrong, so I can see both sides.

Paltrow has played a Brit in Emma (1996), Sliding Doors (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Possession (2002).  For completists: she also had a small role as “Young Wendy” in the 1991 movie Hook.  She said one word – “Peter” – in a British accent.

All four of these movies are quite romantic, so they are good complements for the upcoming Valentine's Day.

And guys, despite what you might have heard, watching a romantic movie does not cause your genitals to withdraw up into your body.  I have watched several hundred romantic movies and I can assure you that I still have an outie, not an innie.

You can find my posts for these movies here:

Emma
Sliding Doors
Shakespeare in Love
Possession

On to the reviews…