Notting Hill

When an average cinemagoer is posed with the question “what comes to mind when you think of English cinema?” they may immediately think of the name Hugh Grant. He is often typecast into the role of the bumbling and clumsy Englishman, unlucky in life and love. In the romantic comedy Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999) Hugh Grant is again cast as the main protagonist. The film is set entirely in the area of Notting Hill in London, a popular tourist destination. All of the cast are British actors with the exception of the female lead, played by Julia Roberts, whose American accent puts further emphasis on the ‘Britishness’. The roles of Hugh Grant have become archetypal to the point of stereotypical of English cinema, making the opinion of many that British people are not unlike the character of William Thacker.