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This film features the lovely Kate Winslett The seasonal setting of the film is appropriate as it occurs around Christmas into New Years. Kate’s character Iris who lives in England, has had a love interest of three years, a co worker who is amiable towards her, but has never brought it to the next level. Somehow, she ponders her future happiness as depending on how he responds, but so far her hopes have been teased by his kind treatment at work but dashed as per outright passion, by what is characterized as one sided love coming from her direction. As Christmas time approaches, she feels most alone and vacant in her hopes. And it is interesting that I was walking in New York city yesterday and I overhead a girl say to her girlfriend, “I hate being single this time of year." On the opposite side of the world we find Cameron Diaz, who is the character of Amanda, who has her own difficulties with men. While she has somebody, realistically it isn’t working, and it appears to have been more of an arrangement than anything that could ever manifest into a blossomed romance. When her guy finally admits to a girl on the side, she throws him out and heaves a couple of punches his way and begins to look on the web for a place to get away and forget about it for a while. There she crosses paths on the web with Iris, who is in a home swap on the web program that hasn’t been used yet, and they agree to swap homes for two weeks starting tomorrow. The finality of her love interest getting engaged hits Iris hard, and you see her and feel with her as she is alone on the bus with a heavy coat but without the warmth of Christmas love, and then looking lonely walking on the road to her home and when she finally enters her home she finally weeps passionately. You do feel for her, in that it is really the time of year for celebration and she has an attractive persona that hasn’t found its home. Somehow though, she needs to find a path where she can finally let go. Even when she gets on the plane to California, she almost has a super attractive guy sit next to her, only the girlfriend was just right behind and elderly women sit next to her on each side, again, symbolizing how the wanted placement of things just doesn’t seem to happen for her. The performance by Cameroon Diaz as Amanda starts slow, and later in the movie turns around and becomes truly riveting and ebbs emotion and beauty that was never seen in her earlier characterizations in the movie. It is interesting, that she doesn't seem as desirable earlier in the movie when she is with the wrong guy, yet her desirability looking in as the screen goer increases exponentially later in the movie. She arrives in England, and Iris’s brother played by Jude Law arrives looking for his sister only to find Amanda. Amanda doesn’t quite believe she has it to attract or even hold what she would ultimately would want, but what emerges is a genuine heartfelt on screen felt romance between her and Iris’s brother, with some great nuances and a surprise. Amanda, hasn’t yet found the place for tears and can’t cry, symbolizing her previous placement away from real romance of the heart. Iris still hurting from her lost hopes, is beautifully portrayed in California in one outdoor scene that just captures her outer and inner beauty in a special way and metaphorically refers to the warm coastal winds bringing in the possibility of newness. This scene is so well photographed and timelessly beautiful that it is worth price of admission and seeing the movie in and off itself. I saw this movie in a large crowded New York City theatre and most of the crowd clapped vigorously after the movie, and that right there is a good review. But one thing that really worked especially well was the on screen chemistry between the characters played by Jude Law and Cameron Diaz which had turns which were power packed with emotion, and the slightly different cultures they were bringing to the situation also played in nicely and believably, but at times the on screen touches were nothing short of amazing. The movie includes a little cameo of Dustin Hoffman, playing himself, shopping at Blockbuster. The Holiday is a nice holiday treat.
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