Imagine the diverse possibilities of a modern-day Love Actually

Love Actually is my favourite festive film. I watch it countless times each Christmas and could recite it backwards with my eyes closed. 

Hugh Grant’s dancing Prime Minister, Rowan Atkinson gift-wrapping a necklace with lavender and cinnamon, Colin Firth butchering the Portuguese language while trying to propose and that scene with Emma Thompson’s Joni Mitchell CD, Love Actually makes you laugh, cry and generally go a bit fuzzy inside. It’s a true one of a kind. 

But that doesn’t mean I don’t think it could be even better. Because for a film that’s meant to champion love in all its beautiful forms, there’s no denying a real lack of diversity in both the cast and storylines.

Of course this isn’t a new conversation. We’ve talked time and time again about how ‘problematic’ classic TV shows and films are – and yes, even family favourite Friends had questionable jokes that wouldn’t be included if the show were to be made again today.

What I want to do instead is explore how Love Actually could be made 20 years later, to ensure it’s more representative of the people who watch it. After all, when a film has love at its core, surely we need to ensure we’re not just celebrating white, cis, straight, able-bodied love?

In a recent interview, writer and director Richard Curtis himself made comments about how Love Actually now makes him feel ‘a bit stupid’ and ‘uncomfortable’ due to the lack of diversity and the nature of some of the storylines.

‘There are things that you would change, but thank God society is changing,’ the screenwriter told Diane Sawyer in a one-hour special titled, The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later.

‘My film is bound, in some moments, to feel out of date. The lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid.’ 

He also noted that there is ‘such extraordinary love that goes on every minute in so many ways, all the way around the world’ which makes him wish his film was ‘better’. ‘It makes me wish I’d made a documentary just to kind of observe it.’ 

So, if even the creator of the film agrees it could be improved, how would we go about making it ‘better’? And by ‘better’, I mean gayer.

The rumour goes that Love Actually was originally supposed to include a lesbian couple, a headmistress and her terminally ill partner Geraldine, who was played by the award-winning Harry Potter actress Frances de la Tour.

Now, the storyline in itself immediately poses questions: why did the queer storyline have to centre around illness and misery? Geraldine actually died, which would’ve made her another victim of the ‘bury your gays’ trope.

Alas, it ended up on the cutting room floor – and, those things considered, perhaps it was best to keep them from the final edit, if their romance was to involve such pain. Queer film fans deserve joy at Christmas too, people!

In a modern-day Love Actually, there would be scope for some really tender queer storytelling, especially given that gay love on-screen is far less taboo now.

A lesbian couple finding out close to Christmas that they’re expecting a baby, two gay men enjoying their first Christmas in their new home, a queer couple choosing to spend the festive season together rather than endure the homophobia of relatives…

And, if you do want to do queer pain, it needn’t centre around death – and there could, actually, be a positive end.

A trans teen who fears coming out to their parents, only to be accepted,  maybe even have their grandmother make them a new stocking with their name on it.

How about a polyamorous throuple, navigating the festive season and the judgement of their friends, only to book a last-minute getaway to spend Christmas their way?

In the 2003 classic, we see loveable Colin Frissell (played by Kris Marshall) venture to the States, where he strikes lucky with the ladies. I’d love to see a guy who leaves his hometown on a whim to explore his sexuality without the restraints of life in the countryside.

Of course, we can’t forget adorable Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and his quest to make Joanna (Olivia Olson) his girlfriend. Why not a school girl with a crush on a classmate of the same sex, all Heartstopper vibes?

When it comes to LGBTQ+ love and film, the possibilities are endless.

And that doesn’t mean to say we need to axe the existing storylines. Although controversial, I still believe Mark (Andrew Lincoln) showing up on Juliet’s (Keira Knightley) doorstep with those placards will go down as one of the most romantic moments in cinema.

But oh, what I would give to watch a film that claims to celebrate love and actually recognises that love isn’t one-dimensional or for certain people.

Love is queer, love is ever-changing, love is bold, love is challenging, love is brave, but above all, love is something we all deserve, a message that a modern-day Love Actually would have the power to send.

And not just to LGBTQ+ fans, but to all communities. When we think about Black love in the film, well, it’s virtually non-existent. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Peter ends up a side character in his own marriage, as the action focuses on Mark’s hidden feelings for Juliet. 

Not to mention the weird power dynamics. Harry (Alan Rickman) and Mia’s (Heike Makatsch) affair, and the PM’s clandestine love with Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), both play into the male boss seducing his hot female assistant trope.

Oh, and as for Sarah (Laura Linney) and Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), there’s an implication that carers for family members with disabilities or additional needs have to make a choice between love and looking after their loved one. 

But although Love Actually has plenty of room for improvement, it doesn’t make it a bad film by any means (even if seeing Karen crying at her children’s school play makes me furious on every single viewing – how dare you, Harry!)

I’d welcome a Love Actually remake with open arms. Granted, nothing could replace the original and probably wouldn’t replicate its success, but a modern day Love Actually would be a nod to progress.

It would be Richard Curtis (or whoever took the helm) doing something we rarely see in cinema – a filmmaker not just acknowledging their errors and the times they were closed-minded, but making a conscious effort to do better.

But if we were to get a second film, it would need to be done right and with diversity running all the way through, not just on the screen but down to the production crew, because no one knows how to tell those stories better than those who live them.

Ultimately, if they’re going to tell us that love ‘is all around’ then it would be life-changing to see it include everyone. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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