Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is carried largely by its exceptional ensemble cast — Hugh Grant's bumbling charm, Kristin Scott Thomas's quiet ache, and a supporting cast of memorable eccentrics all elevate the material. The script by Richard Curtis is witty and emotionally intelligent, though the episodic structure occasionally feels thin. Cinematography is functional and largely unremarkable, serviceable British rom-com fare. The film's novelty lies in its smart structural conceit (five set pieces) and the genuinely moving funeral sequence with the W.H. Auden poem, which lifts it above genre convention — but it's still firmly within the romantic comedy tradition. The ending, while crowd-pleasing, is somewhat conventional and slightly rushed after the emotional weight built earlier.