Notting Hill Directed by Roger

¶ … Notting Hill directed by Roger Mitchell [...] whether Anna and William will have a successful future together. This film, about a romance between a timid English bookseller and a world-famous Hollywood star, is a romantic comedy with a happily ever after ending. In the film, they eventually marry and Anna becomes pregnant.

However, it does not seem Anna and William could ever have a successful relationship because they have different lifestyles, they really know very little about each other, and because Anna is such a huge star, William will always be a little in awe of her, rather than her partner and equal. Marriage is certainly never easy. It is the joining of two unique and opposite people into a joint unit, and that can always end up in disaster.

When two people who come from different worlds marry, compounded with the fact they barely know each other, the marriage seems doomed to failure from the start. Author Anne Roiphe notes, "When we look at how we choose our partners and what expectations exist at the tender beginnings of romance, some of the reasons for disaster become quite clear. We all select with unconscious accuracy a mate who will recreate with us the emotional patterns of our first homes" (Roiphe). Unfortunately, William and Anna hardly know each other.

They are in the giddy and perfect days of early romance throughout the film, and they really do not see much of they day-to-day life of each other. They choose each other based on two chance meetings, and for whatever subconscious reasoning they have. Marriage is filled with day-to-day life, rather than giddy perfection, and that is one reason this marriage will fail. They do not really know each other well, and they have not taken the time to really learn about each other.

If they had really known each other before dating, they would have clearly recognized they have two very different lifestyles that do not seem to blend well at all. Another factor in the failure of their relationship is the vast difference in their lifestyles. Anna is extremely wealthy and travels the globe for her job. She is used to the best restaurants, the finest hotels, and all the accessories of a wealthy lifestyle. William owns a small bookstore and lives in a tiny flat.

He is content with his few friends and his simple life. The two could not be more opposite if they tried. If they stay together, Anna will probably grow tired of the confines of such a confining life. It would seem reasonable she would want to move, or begin acting again, and that could drive a wedge between the two. Anna describes the ultimate difference quite well after the paparazzi find William's home. She says, "You're right: of course, you're right.

it's just that I've dealt with this garbage for ten years now -- you've had it for ten minutes. Our perspectives are different" (Notting Hill). Their perspectives are quite different, and that does not bode well for the relationship. In fact, it is not quite clear why Anna is attracted to William. He is charming, but he does not seem to have the charisma or sophistication she seeks in other areas, and so, it is puzzling just what she sees in him.

He is a nice man, but simply that, and it is doubtful that a woman such as Anna would be attracted to him if she met him or ran into him under other circumstances. William of course, would be attracted to her wherever they met, and that is ultimately another barrier in their relationship. The fact that Williams worships Anna is obvious throughout the film, and this is another problem with the longevity of their relationship. His friend Max is right when he says, "Let's face facts.

This was always a no-go situation. Anna's a goddess and you know what happens to mortals who get involved with the gods" (Notting Hill). Indeed, Anna is somewhat of a modern goddess, and it is hard to figure out why she would settle for a "mere mortal." This dooms their relationship for a number of reasons. First, William has her on a pedestal, and no one can live up to that pressure day after day, year after year.

Eventually she will fall off the pedestal, and then she may not be as appealing to him. As author Roiphe notes, "Those euphoric, grand feelings that accompany romantic love are really self-delusions, self-hypnotic dreams that enable us to forge a relationship. Real life, failure at work, disappointments, exhaustion, bad smells, band colds and hard times all puncture the dream" (Roiphe). Because Anna is such a well-known star, William has expectations about her even before he meets her.

She is larger than life, and so, he has even more euphoric feelings about her. As they sleep together, he is overwhelmed. He says, "It still strikes me as, well, surreal, that I'm allowed to see you naked" (Notting Hill). That may be well and good for early romance, but if he still worships her like this after marriage, it could be very bad for the marriage. She does not worship him, she simply is attracted to him, and so the attraction is lopsided and uneven.