The Girl in the Cafe at the G-8

The G-8 Summit is being held in Scotland this week and if you have HBO you can watch a timely film about it called The Girl in the Cafe, written by Richard Curtiss who also did the Bridget Jones films, Love Actually and Notting Hill among others  It features Bill Nighy who played the over the hill rocker Billy Mack in Love Actually. Nighy is a terrific physical actor who with posture, stride, stance and gesture creates the personality of a shy, self-deprecating civil servant who serves as a senior aide to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Taking a tea break Bill (as Lawrence) shares a booth in a busy restaurant with Gina (Kelley MacDonald) who is as direct as Lawrence is obtuse. They chat. The dialogue is intelligent and funny. Lawrence gathers his courage, asks Gina out, more amusing conversation, Lawrence falls hard and, a few days later Gina finds herself at the G-8 Summit in Rekyavik sharing a room in a five star hotel. Lots of comedy, a sweet relationship and a political message. Because, Gina, every chance she gets uses the information that Lawrence has provided her about aid to Africa, poverty, dying children and inevitable compromise, to harrangue first the Chancellor, then the PM. They don’t like it. She is asked to leave and Lawrence agrees to resign. But in the denouement, the Prime Minister digs his heals in against, of course, the economically selfish rants of the US representative and the G-8 agrees to be of actual help. We don’t know what happens to Lawrence and Gina but presume they get together. Gina’s lectures are, of course, idealistic and unrealistic, but dramatic. Bill Nighy’s agonies as she lectures his bosses are palpable. Worth viewing for a great, busy, working actor who we’ve all seen but don’t recognize because he changes so much for each part. And, you’ll probably never again see a love story set at the G-8.