21. Truly, Madly, Deeply

Truly, Madly, Deeply is about traversing the stages of grief to return to life after the loss of a lover. Star Juliet Stevenson (so good in last year's Nicholas Nickelby) was robbed of an Oscar nomination for her courageous, soul-baring performance. And yet, this movie is a romantic comedy! Truly, Madly, Deeply is far superior to its similarly themed contemporary, the Oscar-nominated Ghost, yet sadly far less known. It is the startlingly fresh first directing job of Anthony Minghella, who would go on to treat the death of a lover far more ponderously in The English Patient.

Nina is a woman surrounded by admiring men -- her boss and good friend Sandy (Bill Paterson, Comfort and Joy), her soulful Polish carpenter Titus (Christopher Rozycki, Local Hero), plumber Keith (Keith Bartlett) and exterminator George (David Ryall). Nina insists she is fine, but her grief is total, symbolized by the structural problems of her flat. One day Jamie (the marvelous Alan Rickman, Die Hard) simply returns from the dead and her joy is unbounded. She locks herself away with him for a week before returning to work and a quizzical Sandy. Jamie, though, begins to relax into housebound tics, always cold and in want of the company of his dead friends who crowd Nina's apartment to watch videos (Five Easy Pieces or Fitzcarraldo?). When she meets a new man, Mark (Michael Maloney, Hamlet -- 1990 and 1996), in the midst of an impromptu labor dispute, Jamie realizes he must find the appropriate time to quietly depart.

Truly, Madly, Deeply is full of warm subtexts like music, the Spanish language and the importance of children which flow throughout the film, giving it great depth and character. Minghella suggests British social reforms without ever making the subject overtly politically correct or heavy. Funny, bittersweet and joyful, Truly, Madly, Deeply is a rare film that will rip your heart out while putting a smile on your face. (Laura Clifford)