The Girl in the Café

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The Girl in the Café

TV-14

2005

1h 34m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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4 Reviews

85%

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5,000+ Ratings

Lawrence (Bill Nighy) is a reserved civil servant who has worked for the British government for years. When he meets the much younger Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a café, he is immediately smitten. Feeling uncharacteristically impetuous, Lawrence invites her to join him on a business trip to Reykjavik for the G-8 summit. Gina, not one to hold her thoughts back, surprises Lawrence with her blunt political opinions, and he must balance his affection for her with the propriety of his position.

Brian Lowry

Variety

Understated and moving.

Dec 20, 2005

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Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Dec 24, 2005

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Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

A dupla principal impecvel, o roteiro de Curtis inteligente e recheado de bons dilogos, mas a mensagem poltica, apesar de bem intencionada, ingnua e soa artificial.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 27, 2005

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David Cornelius

eFilmCritic.com

Nighy, Macdonald, and Curtis have never been better than in their work here.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 3, 2005

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Kane P

One of my favorite movies. I watched it several times on HBO when it came out in 2005. Sadly, it is not available to stream on HBO for some reason.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/05/24

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Jennifer D

So perfectly acted, such a beautiful story. Almost gives one hope that even just one voice could make a difference.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Promising, but then make Blobbo big cringe, change channel.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

dave s

Girl in the Café stars two of the most underappreciated actors out there – Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald. Nighy plays a socially awkward bureaucrat, significantly stressed out as he prepares to represent the United Kingdom in the upcoming G8 conference in Iceland. MacDonald plays the aloof but likeable young woman who Nighy meets in a café. What seems like a predictable June-December romance evolves into something quite different and unexpected, creating a tonal shift that could be problematic, but, thanks to the great performances by the two leads and some cleverly written dialogue, works out quite nicely.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Catches the right point. Fine team, start from writers, to actors and direction.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

A surprising, slight story blessed with excellent performances .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

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David Yates

Director

Bill Nighy

Lawrence

Kelly Macdonald

Gina

Ken Stott

Chancellor

Anton Lesser

George

Corin Redgrave

Prime Minister

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Synopsis

Lawrence (Bill Nighy) is a reserved civil servant who has worked for the British government for years. When he meets the much younger Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a café, he is immediately smitten. Feeling uncharacteristically impetuous, Lawrence invites her to join him on a business trip to Reykjavik for the G-8 summit. Gina, not one to hold her thoughts back, surprises Lawrence with her blunt political opinions, and he must balance his affection for her with the propriety of his position.

Director: David Yates
Producer: Hilary Bevan Jones
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Sep 6, 2005
Runtime: 1h 34m