Rosehill Cottage in the film ‘The Holiday’ (Photo: hookedonhouses.net)
Around this time of the year, I look for films full of joy, good humour and captivating scenes of snow- the essence of the Christmas films. “The Holiday” is among the best ones, a warm and joyful romantic comedy, that you wouldn’t get bored of re-watching. The film, released in 2006, was written and directed by Nancy Meyers starring Cameron Diaz (Amanda) as the owner of a movie trailer producing company and Kate Winslet (Iris) as a columnist at The Daily Telegraph. The male lead actors in the movie are Jude Law playing Iris’s book editor brother Graham, and Jack Black, playing Amanda’s film composer friend Miles. Eli Wallach (Arthur Abbott) stars in the film as a famous screenwriter from Hollywood’s golden age.
The film starts with Iris’s voicing what she is writing for her social column as follows:
“… Shakespeare said, ‘Journeys end in lovers meeting.’… . Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that … . I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I’m constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said, ‘Love is blind’. Now that is something I know to be true. For some, quite inexplicably, love fades. For others, love is simply lost. But then, of course, love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then there’s another kind of love, the cruelest kind, the one that almost kills its victims. It’s called unrequited love. Of that, I am an expert. …”
The unrequited love of Iris is Jasper (starred by Rufus Sewell), her ex-boyfriend and a colleague from the newspaper. After Iris writes these lines, Jasper drops by and starts flirting with her also asking her to give him feedback on his writing. Iris is quite shy and polite with Jasper who had cheated on her as she is blind with love and gives him a Christmas present. Then the Christmas party of their company begins and everyone gets called for an announcement which is that Jasper is engaged to Sarah who also works for The Daily Telegraph. Iris is asked to write about this engagement, which she hears about right there, in her column. In a complete shock and heart break due to, as she puts it, the ‘cruelest kind of love’, she sets off for home.
That is the first time we see the small and cosy British cottage in the film which I guess everyone watching the film is charmed by, including myself. (Photo below: Rosehill Cottage [hookedonhouses.net]). She goes home and weeps loudly.
On the other hand, we see the movie trailer producer Amanda Woods, charming and crazy, in her big sumptuous house in LA, shouting and throwing things to her boyfriend as she learns that he had cheated on her with his receptionist. She cannot weep as she has not cried since she was fifteen, when her parents broke up and she decided to be strong. She breaks up with her boyfriend and decides to take a vacation just before Christmas. She comes across the following announcement at an home exchange website about a cottage in Surrey, England, written by Iris:
“A fairy tale English cottage set in a tranquil county garden. Snuggle up by an old stone fireplace and enjoy a cup of cocoa. An enchanting oasis of tranquility in a quiet English hamlet, just forty minutes from exciting London“
Amanda and Iris message and decide to exchange their houses for two weeks. Flying across the Atlantic the next day, they not only swap houses but also their lives, which would eventually enable them to rediscover themselves and find true love.
As the cab drives Iris to Amanda’s house from the airport in LA, passing from Santa Monica and the Sunset Boulevard, she looks around with surprise. She becomes very happy when she sees Amanda’s huge house and settles in. In a short while she meets Miles, Amanda’s friend, a film composer, and also Arthur Abbott, Amanda’s elderly neighbor and an Oscar-winning screenwriter.
On the other hand, Amanda feels lonely in the small cottage of Iris in a remote village and decides to turn back thinking that she has made a mistake. Until Graham, Iris’s handsome and humorous brother, knocks on the door of the cottage …
Some Pleasant Scenes From The Film
Iris and Arthur Abbott get along very well. She once invites him to dinner and tells him about Jasper, her unrequited love. The old legendary screenwriter comments on the issue as follows:
“Iris, in the movies, we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady. But for some reason, you’re behaving like the best friend.”
Iris appreciates Arthur’s observation saying that ‘you’re supposed to be the leading lady of your own life’. Arthur Abbott, a wise, experienced and humorous sweet man, gives Iris a long list of movies with strong female characters to watch so that she behaves like a leading lady in her life. Some of the films I noted among these are “Punch-Drunk Love” and “The Graduate“.
Iris also gives a Hanukah Party for Arthur and his old friends at Amanda’s house, a very thoughtful behavior to cheer the old man a bit. Meanwhile, Miles drops by and joins the party where they all together have fun and share nice moments, which reflect on the screen in a very warm way.
Iris also convinces Arthur to attend to the gala organized as a tribute to him as a speaker. She exercises with him so that he can walk on stage without his walker. On the gala night, she goes to pick him. Arthur gives her a beautiful flower at the door saying that it was like that in his time, which was very sweet.
The characters of Iris and Miles match very well and they share a good sense of humor. In one of the scenes, they go to a video store to choose films and entertain themselves listening to the soundtracks of classic films. The scene in the film where Miles plays his compositions for Iris, inspired by Arthur and Iris, is intimate and natural.
Amanda and Graham also share funny and romantic moments in the small village of England.
Amanda finds out that Graham is a widower and has two daughters after she suddenly decides to go to Graham’s house. They share sweet moments together.
The Places I Liked In The Film
Rosehill Cottage
Unfortunately, Iris’s English cottage (Rosehill Cottage) is not real. I have read that the cottage was built just for the movie in the small English village of Shere in Surrey and used only for exterior shots and was removed thereafter. The shots inside the cottage had been filmed on a set. However, the stone cottage is said to have been inspired by a real location – Honeysuckle Cottage in the the village of Holmbury St Mary in Surrey. (news.co.uk)
Rosehill Cottage in the film is decorated comfortably in typical English country style with stone fireplaces heating the place. Everything inside looks so cosy. (Photo below: houseandgarden.co.uk)
Mill House
Iris’ brother Graham’s house, ‘Mill House‘ in the film, is also nice and was beautifully decorated for Christmas. This house is in Wonersh, one of Britain’s richest villages close to Surrey Hills, an area of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England. (news.co.uk)
Amanda’s House
Although I would opt for Iris’s cosy British cottage, Amanda’s house in Los Angeles is gorgeous. It is located at 1883 Orlando Road in San Marino, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The house had only been used for exterior shots. (townandcountrymag.com)
Cornwell Manor and Greystone Mansion
The place where Amanda and Graham enjoy their romantic date is Cornwell Manor in Oxfordshire. Cornwell is an AONB in the Cotswolds. The house, gardens and estate are available for parties and weddings. (cornwellmanor.com)
The interior scene, the cosy restaurant where the couple had lunch, however had been shot in Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles (greystonemansion.org) – a popular filming location and a venue for weddings. (mirror.co.uk, locationshub.com)
The White Horse Pub and Surrey
I noticed the cosy pub with a white horse figure on top of its sign at the very beginning of the film, at the scene Iris was walking to her cottage at night. The pub where Amanda meets Graham and they have a drink together is Shere’s local pub “The White Horse“.
The English village scenes in the film were shot in Surrey’s Shere and Godalming villages. Iris’s cottage was also in Shere. Godalming is the village where Amanda drives to pick up some food and drink from the local shops. (mirror.co.uk). Surrey is about an hour from London and borders the renowned English county of Sussex. I have read that the films “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” were also filmed in Shere, Surrey.
‘The Refectory‘ pub, an old cattle barn which now serves as a gastropub, and ‘The Inn on The Lake‘, a premium pub and restaurant offering accommodation, are suggested in Godalming. (inews.co.uk)
I also came across ‘The Grantley Arms‘, a village pub in the Wonersh village of Surrey (where Mill House I mentioned above is located), which I found cosy. (inews.co.uk)
(The Grantley Arms)
There is another pub named ‘The White Horse‘ in the village of Hascombe in the Surrey Hills AONB close to Guildford, which I liked. This award winning 16th century pub though is not the one in the film The Holiday.
The White Horse in Shere, the pub in the film The Holiday, is a Grade II listed country pub dating back to 1425. Today, a photo of Cameron Diaz and Jude Law hangs on its wall as the sign of the film ‘The Holiday’ (getsurrey.co.uk). The bar draws attention in the film with its warm and cosy atmosphere.
I do like the English countryside. The picturesque villages, pretty houses and shops, cosy pubs and tea rooms … Surrey is very inviting either to discover part of this countryside, track down the jolly film ‘The Holiday’ or enjoy a drink at the cosy pub ‘The White Horse’.
Finally
I think films like ‘The Holiday’ are very inspiring at these times of the year. You can imagine yourself in a fairy tale place like Rosehill Cottage enjoying your hot drink while watching the flames in the stone fireplace. Or, while having a drink with friends in a cosy pub in a pretty countryside village.
We recently watched Harry Potter film series as a family and enjoyed the enchanting views of snow in the series as well as extraordinary imaginative scenes. Amazing natures getting even more amazing under an enchanting snowfall… Like a true magic…
A scene from the film ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (wisardingworld.com)
I wish you a healthy, happy and a magical new year.
İt is a wonderfull post. Happy new year.