The Holiday season is tough, truly, there is an inexplicable energy that engulfs you that need not necessarily have a definition. You long for a partner, or perhaps companionship is a better word for it.
That’s when the much coveted “Holiday season watchlist” comes to your rescue. There’s always one to get to. And most often or not, these films are the ones that you have watched a thousand times and keep going back to right when December sets in.
The Holiday featuring Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Winslet in the lead has become one such cult-favourite that refuses to leave us during the holidays. It’s like a tradition that gets sweeter with time.
If you look at it, Iris’ character played by Kate Winslet is pretty depressing. What with her heart shattered into a million pieces by Jasper Bloom (Rufus Sewell). Quite a rude shock after being in love for three years. And all the self-loathing that comes with it?
Heartbreak is one thing, but to have one during the Holiday season is a whole new story.
Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) leads an affluent life as a movie trailer editor in LA. To the outer world, her life is perfect. On the inside, she’s every bit insecure and doubtful of her decisions, just like the rest of us.
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In an interesting turn of events, the two ladies swap their lives for Christmas. Running away from their problems (because that’s the solution to every heartbreak).
While Iris experiences a lavish lifestyle in LA, Amanda pulls up her socks to embrace a quiet Christmas on the English Countryside.
Amanda is pretty much ready to give up on the simple life, on day one, unbeknownst to the charming stranger she’ll encounter at the end of the night.
Enter the heartthrob Jude Law, in a drunken state as he stumbles in. Amanda is instantly attracted. She finds herself straightening up, coquettishly interacting with him and even sharing a passionate kiss. Everything she’s never done before, everything that’s out of her comfort zone.
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Over their next few meetings, both of them find themselves drawn to each other. The kind of gravitational pulls that you can’t resist.
This generation is not all gung-ho about the “till-death-do-us-part” romance. It’s an age where situanships and friends with benefits are the accepted norms in the field of dating. Talk about commitment, and the Gen-Z crowd has anxiety creeping in like a lurking neighbour.
Keeping it casual is considered cool, going the extra mile is too last season.
But as the social media trend goes on during this time of the year, this film has and continues to have a different effect.
Fans on social media caption every video or a carousel of movie stills with, “Jude Law flirtation season has officially begun” or “Happy Jude Law in «the holiday» season to all who celebrate”, and “Millennials watching The Holiday for the 1,000,000th time for the plot. The plot is Jude Law.”
Have a look here:
But we can’t just make it all about his charm and good looks. The Jude Law fever is more than that.
It’s the warm, fuzzy feeling of the good old-school romance when your crush glances at you. Eyes smiling, grin widening. It’s also the kindness and softness that Law shows on screen, taking into account how his character is written.
He treats his lady with respect and kindness, and that goes a long way. In a generation parched of chivalry and the kind of love that consumes you, the male lead in The Holiday comes like a breath of fresh air.
The actor is very well aware that there are fans who swear by the classic every year.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show last month, the Jude cleared every question surrounding the cozy English cottage of Iris. Stating, “That cottage doesn’t exist.”
Believe it or not, it’s quite shocking and painful for ardent fans of the film.
He further added, “Nancy Meyers, the director, she’s a bit of a perfectionist, toured that whole area and didn’t quite find the chocolate box cottage she was looking for. So she just hired a field and drew it and had someone build it.”
He also broke the news that the interiors that fans seem to love so much were indeed shot in LA. That’s also the reason why his scene wrapped up every time he reached the door of the cottage.
Kate Winslet too spoke about the craze behind watching the film every year when she graced the Graham Norton Show recently.
She shared, “In 2006 that film was made. But there’s a very interesting thing that happens with it. It’s that every Christmas, mothers and daughters will come up to me, and hold hands and say ‘We love The Holiday.”
She further added, “It becomes like a ritualistic thing for them. They order their takeaway, a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine. It really is lovely, I love it!”
The rumours around a sequel have been making the rounds too. Jude Law also received a star this year at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He caught up with Nancy Meyers post the event, and finally addressed it.
Not that he gave a definitive answer when the director inquired about the sequel. Rather, he revived the famous scene of Mr. Napkin Head and looked away at a distance, while pondering over the dilemma that lies at hand.
The movie was way ahead of its time, capturing themes of self-love, self-sufficiency, and why women can be as ambitious as men.
Amanda is extremely successful, yet her heart seeks something that she can’t define. She finds herself unable to shed a tear, and though she keeps falling head over heels in love with Graham, she looks at all the pros and cons before finally committing to him.
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In the first half of the film, when Amanda reaches the countryside and goes off for grocery shopping, she truly shops to her heart’s content. Like there’s no tomorrow.
She’s sarcastically told by the shopkeeper, “Oh, someone’s having a party tonight.” To which Amanda replies, “Oh, yeah!”, as she takes a big gulp from her champagne bottle.
It’s a story of self-acceptance, discovering yourself and loving yourself. And just when the holiday season seems lonely, these characters still ignite the same spark they did all those years ago.
What came as a surprise earlier this month was when the director, Nancy Meyers said that she did not consider The Holiday to be a Christmas movie at all.
In conversation with the hosts of The Hollywood Gold Podcast, she said, “I didn’t think of it that way. I just really wanted to tell the story about these people. I set it at Christmas because that can be lonely.”
She added, “Everybody sees it as a Christmas movie, and when I watched it last night to prepare, I was a little shocked at how much Christmas was in it.”
Funny how a film that started a whole movement on how the ideal man looks like and falling in love becoming all the more magical during the holiday season, never occurred to the maker as a Christmas film.
Another year, and another season of the Jude Law obsession, done and dusted.
But what makes this year special is, Jude Law pulling a Graham and answering all the burning questions regarding the sequel. Until we hear again, here’s to watching that movie one more time as Christmas dawns.