"The Holiday" is one of my most favourite Christmas movies. It's a recent favourite, having only seen it for the first time a few years ago, but on the first viewing it became a firm favourite. For me there is something just so real about the characters. And their situations - that desperate need to just run away from reality when everything goes to hell.
As well as being brilliantly entertaining (Cameron Diaz singing out of tune to "The Killers" is one small example!) I think there are some major lessons we can learn from it - and quotes that we need to keep reminding ourselves of.
The first is one of the more sad ones. It's this speech by Kate Winslet's character Iris that I think perfectly encapsulates the long and slow process of trying to get over someone...
What I'm trying to say is...
...I understand feeling as small and as insignificant...
...as humanly possible.
How it can actually ache in places that you didn't know you had inside you.
It doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get...
...or gyms you join...
...or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with girlfriends.
You still go to bed every night going over every detail...
...and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood.
And how in the hell, for that brief moment...
...you could think that you were that happy?
And sometimes you can even convince yourself...
...that he'll see the light and show up at your door.
And after all that...
...however long "all that" may be...
...you'll go somewhere new.
And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again.
And little pieces of your soul will finally come back.
And all that fuzzy stuff...
...those years of your life that you wasted...
...that will eventually begin to fade.
How many of us have felt like that? I know for damn certain I have. (When I watched this movie last year, this scene had me in floods of tears - it was all just a tad too close to home)
But it basically sums up the rule of all break ups - only time will heal it. Time and those people that remind you that you ARE worthwhile.
The second one is an almost throw away line - but it has always stuck with me.
"You're supposed to be the
Leading Lady of your own life
for God's sake!"
Leading Lady of your own life
for God's sake!"
Ladies if you listen to only one thing I ever say - listen to this please. You ARE the Leading Lady in your own life. You deserve the job, the friends, the man - whatever makes you happy, you can get it and you deserve it. Your happy ending and "ever after" - whatever that may mean to you - is waiting for you. And don't ever mistake yourself for the 'best friend' role and sort of disappear for half the screenplay. Be centre stage, and be the star for the entire movie.
And finally I'd like to leave you with just one word. The best word ever heard in a movie EVER. And that word is:
Gumption!
I don't think I even need to explain it. It sounds like what it is. And whether you are the loud, scream about it type, or the quiet thinking type - always remember to have an air of Gumption about you. Be confident, be brave - be unforgettable.
