SATURDAY 25 JUNE
Drama
The Girl in the Café
9:15pm - 10:45pm
BBC1 London & South East
VIDEO Plus+: 997583
Subtitled, Widescreen
Drama written by Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis's drama is, in some ways, two different films. One is a tender romance between two lonely, disparate people. The other is an anti-poverty polemic. They're welded together to make up a whole of almost majestic emotional manipulation. But it's saved from a descent into total schmaltz by two captivating performances. Bill Nighy (playing a sort of older Hugh Grant, all twitches and diffidence) is shy, solitary Lawrence, who meets the similarly shy, much younger Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a café. A hesitant romance ensues and, in a bold move, Lawrence asks Gina to accompany him to an anti-poverty summit of world leaders in Reykjavik.
The Girl in the Café is unashamedly soppy and features some classic Curtis moments as well as a great supporting cast, notably Ken Stott as the Chancellor, and the direction by David Yates (State of Play, Sex Traffic) is exceptional.
Lawrence - Bill Nighy
Gina - Kelly Macdonald
Sunita - Meneka Das
George - Anton Lesser
Robert - Paul Ritter
Chancellor - Ken Stott
Italian waiter - Federico Zanni
Ruth - Penny Downie
Hotel receptionist - Damon Younger
Assistant receptionist - Nina Dogg Filippusdottir
Waitress - Marit Kile
French delegate - Philippe De Grossouvre
CNBC newscaster - Louisa Bojesen
German senior adviser - Christian Pedersen
Japanese delegate - Toshie Ogura
American senior adviser - Martin McDougall
Prime Minister - Corin Redgrave
Herr Gerhardt - Wolf Kahler
Secretary of the Treasury - Madeleine Potter
Canadian delegate - Alysha Westlake
Journalist - Simon Wilson
Secretary - Fran Purcell