Notting Hill

Notting Hill (1999) is a British romantic comedy directed by Roger Michell — watch it online on iFILM. Hugh Grant plays William Thacker, who runs a small travel bookshop in the London neighbourhood of the same name. Julia Roberts plays Anna Scott, the most famous actress on the planet. One morning she walks into his shop. He spills orange juice on her. That is how it starts.

The two couldn't be further apart in every practical sense: her world runs on publicists and red carpets, his on slow Tuesday afternoons and a flatmate named Spike (Rhys Ifans) who answers the door in his underwear. Their relationship keeps collapsing under the weight of the gap between them — and keeps restarting anyway. A circle of warmly drawn friends around William, played by Hugh Bonneville, Gina McKee and Emma Chambers among others, gives the film its texture between the central romance.

Written by Richard Curtis, who had already delivered Four Weddings and a Funeral five years earlier, the film earned over $363 million against a $42 million budget and became the defining romantic comedy of its era. Working Title Films produced. The press conference scene at the end became one of the most quoted moments in the genre. Stream Notting Hill (1999) in full online on iFILM.