Love Actually

Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Richard Curtis's overlapping-storylines Christmas romcom split critics down the middle on release — too many plots, too little depth per story, yet an undeniably charming ensemble — and has only grown more divisive since, becoming a holiday ritual for millions while other critics and publications have sharpened their knives into full-on takedowns. The gap between its cult popularity and its critical reputation is itself the defining fact about the film.