Watch The Girl in the Café For Free

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Twee. Too self-conscious for its own good. Couldn't finish.

Lawrence Montague (Bill Nighy) is a lonely weary civil servant working for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. One day in an over-crowded café, he sits down in Gina Taunton (Kelly Macdonald)'s booth. They shyly hit it off. He brings her to the G8 summit in Reykjavík, Iceland. One of the issues is a fund to battle poverty especially in Africa. She begins to advocate for it to the horror of his coworkers. He decides to work to bring real change to the issue.Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald are two of my favorite actors. I'm even willing to overlook their age difference because the characters see the issue themselves. Their awkward exchanges are endearing. The political stuff is a bit clunky. It might be more compelling for the program to be smaller and more physically substantive in the movie like saving an orphanage. It's just so ethereal. I prefer less of that and more of their relationship.

You have never heard of this movie, "The Girl in the Café," have you? If not, well, see it and you will know why. After meeting Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a café, lonely civil servant Lawrence (Bill Nighy) asks her to join him at the G8 Summit in Iceland. These two shy outsiders hit it off almost instantly, but their attraction is tested when Gina's personal convictions contradict Lawrence's professional duties and the modus operandi of the G8 leaders. Macdonald earned an Emmy for her performance in this made-for-television movie. It has an overarching plot about the G8 but that also has a parallel plot that charts the course of an endearing May-December romance between Gina and Lawrence. This is a great movie about a crucial issue in our new, globalized world. While it has a simple plot, it grips your attention with every subtle inflection of emotion and each surprising, modestly spoken, but incisive confrontation by the ingénue outsider, Gina, with the heady, sophisticated, dignified G-8 political leaders. The highlights of the movie, for me, were the tensely awkward moments as these confrontations take place. They were almost humorous had it not been for the glaring gravitas of the issues being addressed by the G8. In an officious, clandestine, sterile, dehumanized, and sanctimonious manner, these men and women are literally charting the course for the entire globe for the next fifty years. While their issues are scaled down and tailored for a brief TV movie, they, nevertheless, contain a simple, persuasive representation of the political philosophy of a group of leaders who now have absolute power over the rest of the world. This power extends, unfortunately for them, to the third world countries made desperately impoverished by the wealthy nations whom the G8 are representing. Most of those who are dispassionately doing the complex intellectual work for these 'Lords of the Universe', and therefore determining the G8's policies, are unelected, highest-echelons civil servants from the eight world dominant nations. This is the most exclusive club in the world. I was spurred on to learn more about this G8. While it is brief and adapted to a television audience, it, nevertheless, gives a revealing insight into that lofty, inhumane, but pretentiously humane, world. It was produced by a British, independent film company. As an Independent film, it is part of the growing trend of 'alternative' movies. As with alternative energy, alternative life styles, alternative-organic-farmer to market foods, alternative medicine, and the internet as a source alternative information, this new generation of films is part of that burgeoning new world of alternatives. These alternative movements are juxtaposed against what is in the mainstream and owned and incessantly promoted on the outlets of the mainstream media that is also owned by this newer version of the ancient Feudal States and controlled by the new Corprocrats. Those of us who are New Green World Denizens must learn to change our habits which have been shaped by those psychopathic, exploitative, dehumanizing, multinational corporations and their lackeys in D C's Center of Corruption.

This little gem of a movie is a good example of the value of cable networks such as HBO in providing superior entertainment that would never, ever be produced by the huge studios. These films are not just television dramas. They are high-quality motion pictures in every sense of the word.There is a charming, albeit unbelievable, story behind this film. Bill Nighy plays a painfully shy financial adviser to a high-ranking British diplomat who is involved in the preparation for the latest G8 Summit to take place in Iceland. Nighy's character, Lawrence, shares a table with a somewhat enigmatic young woman, Gina, in a café. He is immediately fascinated by her appearance and overcomes his shyness by striking up a conversation. Gina is no conversationalist, but Lawrence continues to be enthralled.Going against what we can assume is his usual behavior with the opposite sex, Lawrence calls Gina and begins a continuing friendship. This leads to his invitation to accompany him to the summit.Gina is a "fish out of water" amongst the diplomats and their spouses. She is not socially inept, but she states her opinions - most of which are contrary to the political machinations of the participants at the summit. What could be worse in a group of diplomats as a person who actually speaks bare-faced truths? This, of course, leads to conflict for Lawrence - he agrees with Gina but is obligated to support his superiors.Scottish actor, Kelly Macdonald gives a beautifully restrained performance as Gina. Even at the end of the film, you are not sure you fully understand this young woman. This, of course, is an element of the script, but Macdonald makes you believe that it would take a long while to come to a full understanding of Gina and her background.Lawrence is highly intelligent and possesses a wry sense of humor, but it is almost painful to witness his insecurity. Bill Nighy is dead-on in his personification of this complex character. Nighy's body is tall and thin with bones that seem to be very loosely connected. He uses his physicality to advantage in his portrayal of Lawrence. Some of his best acting in the film is in the scenes in which we watch the movements of this man who is so insecure and shy. Nighy often has Lawrence move in an almost contorted fashion to emphasize his insecurity.The Girl in the Café is a quiet, entertaining pleasure and one that is surely worthy of an hour and a half or anyone's time.