Review

Christmas in Notting Hill
Subtitle: Love Actually, but Make It One Neighborhood Smaller

Christmas in Notting Hill is the cinematic equivalent of wandering into a perfectly decorated village where everyone owns a scarf collection that suggests deep emotional growth. Set in one of London’s most charming neighborhoods, this movie insists — convincingly — that snow always falls right on cue when romance is about to happen.

Our heroine, a no-nonsense American, arrives just in time to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas, which apparently lives somewhere between a bookstore, a Christmas market, and a chance encounter with a charming British man who owns approximately one coat but wears it extremely well. The dialogue sparkles, the misunderstandings are delightfully low-stakes, and the accents alone deserve a holiday bonus.

If you enjoy Hallmark movies, you’ll feel instantly at home — even though technically this one swaps out small-town America for cobblestone streets and twinkle lights. Among Hallmark holiday movies, this would be the one that drinks tea instead of cocoa, takes a brisk walk instead of a sleigh ride, and reminds you that love, like London at Christmas, is best experienced slightly cold but exceedingly charming.