Give it to the Brits to come up with the most iconic romances in the history of film. Notting Hill, About A Boy, Love, Actually,ย weโve seen them all and God forbid we havenโt abused our copies of the DVDs already. Indeed, the golden days of British cinema dominated by Hugh Grantโs puppy eyes and lovable stutters are long gone, but heart-warming โ and at times heart-rendering โ gems do come along once in a while to cure Saturday nightโs blues. With this weekโs release of Me Before You, an adaptation of Jojo Moyesโs best-selling novel starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke, we take a look at all the British comedies and weepies we love, and their soundtracks which we love even more.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) โ โLove Is All Aroundโ by Wet Wet Wet
Over two decades later, we still feel this Oscar-nominated film in our fingers and we still feel it in our toes. It kick-started the British rom-com mania and reintroduced the timeless tune originally sung by The Troggs that sets the mood and tone for all of Richard Curtis’s feel-good essentials to come. โItโs written on the wind / Itโs everywhere I go,โ the song goes. Itโs cheesy, alright, but thatโs why itโs so good.
Notting Hill (1999) โ โAinโt No Sunshineโ by Bill Withers
The seemingly long shot in which Hugh Grantโs Will Thacker walks along Portobello Road through the four seasons, brokenhearted from Julia Robertsโ Hollywood megastar Anna Scott is undoubtedly one of the most memorable cinematic moments. Bill Withersโ sad, soulful voice couldnโt be more fitting to set the sequence to. Itโs just perfect.
Bridget Jonesโs Diary (2001) โ โOut Of Reachโ by Gabrielle
However many times Robbie Williams poses the question, โHave You Met Miss Jones?โ The answer is always, yes, we have but only โOut Of Reachโ is this chronic-drinking, calorie-counting and diary-keeping Miss Jones. Period.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002) โ โIndependence Dayโ by Mel C
Football, Keira Knightley, a second generation Sikh trying to compromise family traditions and her own aspirations โ it doesnโt get more modern British than this. To wrap that up nicely, our soundtrack pick is from a Spice Girl. While not the strongest single from Mel C, โIndependence Dayโ captures the filmโs thematic focus of womenโs empowerment and how their lives have more going on than romance and marriages.
Love, Actually (2003) โ โGod Only Knowsโ by The Beach Boys
Who doesnโt love a bit of intertwined love stories featuring stellar British cast every Christmas? (Um, maybe not that creepy bit). While weโll never get Joannaโs โAll I Want For Christmasโ out of our head once comes the holiday season, or Billy Mackโs โChristmas Is All Aroundโ, even, thereโs only one place in our heart for the best Love, Actually soundtrack and itโs for this Bryan Wilson-penned classic.
Wimbledon (2004) โ โJust What I Neededโ by The Cars
Before Paul Bettany joined The Avengers, he was a washed-up tennis player looking to make the most of his final tournament. A quintessential meet cute story follows as he is accidentally given a wrong set of room keys, which belongs to Americaโs rising tennis star Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst). Our pick by The Cars not so surprisingly captures the dynamics between the characters even though one wouldnโt normally associate new-wave music with the posh world of Wimbledon.
Starter For Ten (2006) โ โBoys Donโt Cryโ by The Cure
This hilariously romantic coming-of-age tale adapted from David Nichollsโs 2003 novel does not only feature rising talents who went on to become the face of todayโs so-called British invasion (James McAvoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve) but also a killer mixtape-style soundtrack that makes you strangely nostalgic for the 80โs. The Smiths, Kate Bush and several other epochal artists are in the album but we have to go with The Cure.
About Time (2013) โ โHow Long Will I Love Youโ by Jon Boden, Sam Sweeney and Ben Coleman
Richard Curtisโs rom-com return didnโt do so well at the box office but this beautiful ode to time, familial love and life itself proves an instant classic for fans of the genre. Itโs about time someone made a โchick flickโ much bigger and more wholesome than what it seems. Hopefully this now prolific wedding song has turned some people around. Although better known in the form of Ellie Gouldingโs cover, this rendition of the song is the one to go with. Sorry Ms. Goulding, weโre just a sucker for folky tunes.
Love, Rosie (2014) โ โAlone Again (Naturally)โ by Gilbert OโSullivan
In this book-turned-film adaptation, the timing never seems to be right for Rosie and Alex, childhood best friends wary of making the first move. Considering how they actually end up together, this 1972 hit may be a shade too dramatic, even bleak. But itโs an instant favourite and, hey, when the man youโre in love with is across the Atlantic and having a baby with a neurotic girlfriend, projecting on to depressing lyrics is what you need, okay?
Me Before You (2016) โ โPhotographโ by Ed Sheeran
Have you ever watched a trailer that gets you all mushy and then when the soundtrack comes in you feel hit even harder in the feels? Thatโs what itโs like for us with Me Before You. If you havenโt read the book and are waiting to see this tearjerker in the cinema, be assured that Sheeranโs beautiful big-drums ballad fits the unlikely love story of Lou and Will to a T.
Bonus:
Leap Year (2010) โ โDream a Little Dream of Meโ by The Mamas and The Papas
Yes, beside lead actor Matthew Goode (whose Irish accent fools nobody), nothing in this film really says British. But youโll forgive us because Leap Year is a real treat of an across-the-pond romance that makes up for the lack of Britainโs romantic exports between 2010 and 2012. And, of course, because of this dreamiest rendition of โDream a Little Dream of Meโ.
