The Girl in the Cafe

The Girl in the Café is a movie written by Richard Curtis and directed by David Yates. It was produced in 2005 by Tightropes Pictures and presented by HBO Films.

The main Characters are Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald.

The plot is simple but strong. Lawrence (Nighy) is a lonely man in his early 50’s, holding an important job side by side with the chancellor of England; his job is all he’s got. Gina (Macdonald) is a girl in her early 30‘s, lovely, lonely, and unemployed. They meet at a café in one of those surprisingly unexpected moments of life.

Gina automatically wins Lawrence’s heart, who wants to be with her every chance he gets. He impulsively invites her to a special conference in Iceland. It’s the big G8 summit, where 8 leaders of the richest countries make decisions for the future of the world.

Gina carries a luggage of personal experience that drives her to speak her mind when, in that meeting, no one else dared to. By doing so, she puts Lawrence’s job at risk, and questions the future of hundreds of millions of people neglected by forgotten humanitarian rights.

One of the most powerful movies ever written, The Girl in the Café brings forth issues like safe drinking water that, with the current rates, might be achieved by year 2015 (although not in Africa); death rate for children under five may be lower in half by 2150; all children will be in primary school by 2311...It emphasizes the message that eight men in one room could literally save hundreds of millions of lives, changing statistics that reveal a shocking number of 30.000 children dying of extreme poverty each day, or a child dying every three seconds from hunger.

This movie is written with the heart - to the heart. It is loaded with intelligent remarks, questions, view points and a great sense of humor that often times soothes the intensity of the subject.

One of the great aspects I could definitely use in my own future writings would be the amount of research I assume the author must have done in order to write this brilliant work.. It became obvious to me that research plays a huge role in the effectiveness of the written art.

While informing the audience about important matters, Curtis entertains with grace. He shows ability to keep the subject alive from beginning through ending, without compromising the message of hope.

In one instance, I found myself disliking this particular scene where Lawrence explains to Gina why the G8 meeting is being held. The male character starts by describing how boring the subject was, while the female character jokes about falling asleep during the conversation.

At a first glance, I couldn’t understand why the writer would joke during what seemed to me the most important part of the movie. Well, after watching the scene more carefully, I understood why. By the time the girl pretends to be falling asleep for the third time, the audience is already questioning what’s up…that’s when Gina engages herself fully in the subject. She starts to ask questions, and the answers are shocking. At this point, the audience is caught in the true depth of the movie, submerged in a mix of disbelief and excitement.

Another point of great value to me, and one that I shall remember in my own future writings, is the attention paid to small details that turn out to make a huge difference. For example, the emphasis on the hands that want to touch but don’t; the music made by rain drops falling on a crowd of lonely people; the crunching of a morning toast on the teeth of a lonesome being; the prominence of a walking pattern, charmingly awkward…

These are all details that build respect and charisma for the characters developing throughout the movie, delivering the writer’s message, whatever it may be. In this case, a hopeful message was delivered by the chancellor of England representing the powerful people of the world, declaring:

“(...)And remember, even if the prime-minister and I are alone on this, we are not alone. Behind us stand the 30.000 children who die of extreme poverty each day, and we are proud to be their representatives. I didn’t give my life to politics in order to say that I was part of a generation that succeeded in cutting the tariff on the import of coffee to 27.3%. I want to be a member of that great generation that for the first time had the power to wipe out poverty, and did so. Are we alone in this? Or will someone else stand beside us?”

Soon after, follows a quote by Nelson Mandela: “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation,” leading to the snap of fingers every three seconds…A great detail contrasting with the painful sound of silence so deeply heard in the final moments where the message of hope is unquestionably absorbed.

If I could ever imitate Richard Curtis’ ability to write, using hard facts to touch people’s hearts, then I would prove to myself that writing is much more than a gathering of words; it’s about the depth of the message.

In our current challenged world, movies with such messages are found in isolated corners of Blockbuster, contrasting with dozens of horror stories - successfully written in its technical aspects, I am sure. But if I can make a difference while entertaining, then I would choose to follow writers who speak messages like the ones described in this movie. To me, that’s teaching, that’s learning, that’s being part of a productive world.