A mild-mannered British bookseller and a glamorous American movie star forge the unlikeliest of romances in the BAFTA-winning 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill.

“I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” – Anna Scott (Julia Roberts)

William Thacker (Hugh Grant), a London bookseller, leads a quiet life in Notting Hill, sharing a chaotic flat with his eccentric roommate Spike (Rhys Ifans). His routine is upended when Anna Scott, a globally famous actress, wanders into his shop. A chance second encounter—complete with a spilled drink—leads to an impulsive kiss, drawing William into Anna’s orbit and setting the stage for an unlikely romance between two people from vastly different worlds.

As their connection deepens, William is swept into Anna’s high-profile life, from awkwardly posing as a journalist for Horse & Hound at a press junket to bringing her to his sister Honey ’s (Emma Chambers) birthday party, where she charms his tight-knit circle of friends Max (Tim McInnerny), Bella (Gina McKee), Bernie (Hugh Bonneville). Missing from the party is Tony (Richard McCabe). Back at the Ritz, we learn that Anna has a high-profile boyfriend, Jeff (Alec Baldwin), complicating her relationship with William. Despite moments of genuine intimacy, the pressures of fame and public scrutiny repeatedly threaten their connection.

Months later, Anna reenters William’s life amid a personal scandal, seeking refuge from the press. Their bond rekindles, and they share a brief period of happiness before being torn apart again—this time by mistrust and the pressures of public scrutiny. Even as time passes, both struggle to move on, their lingering feelings underscoring the emotional stakes of their relationship.

When Anna returns to London for a film shoot, the pair confront their unresolved feelings. A misunderstanding drives them apart once more, but with encouragement from his friends, William makes a final, heartfelt attempt to win her back during a press conference at the Savoy Hotel. In a public declaration that bridges their private and public lives, Anna chooses to stay in London indefinitely, committing to a future with William that blends ordinary love with extraordinary circumstance.

It’s easy to make the argument that Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was the biggest winner of 1999. At the same time, one could argue that Julia Roberts may have been the year’s biggest winner, starring in not one but two romantic comedies that proved to be major hits with audiences. Opening in the U.S. against The Phantom Menace, Notting Hill broke the previous opening weekend record for a romantic comedy, surpassing Roberts’ own My Best Friend’s Wedding with $27.7 million. Another Roberts film, Runaway Bride, broke the record a month later with $35.1 million. Combined, the two films grossed $673,349,970 worldwide.

Screenwriter Richard Curtis, producer Duncan Kenworthy, and actor Hugh Grant previously collaborated on the smash hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. They struck gold again with Notting Hill, particularly with the inspired decision to cast Roberts—even if director Roger Michell initially doubted they could land her. She was, quite simply, the most glamorous American movie star of the late 1990s. If you’re going to make a film in which the entire world knows every detail about an actress, it has to be Julia Roberts; anyone else at the time wouldn’t have been as believable. The central premise may be a tough sell, but the film makes it work.

Both leads are given ample opportunity for comedic moments in Notting Hill—one of which directly drives the plot and sets their romance in motion. Beyond that, Curtis’s script thoughtfully explores how an ordinary man—arguably a harder sell when that man is played by Hugh Grant in the late ’90s—could plausibly be with someone so famous. The idea originated when Curtis found himself “lying sleepless at nights,” and wondered “what it would be like if I turned up at my friends’ house, where I used to have dinner once a week, with the most famous person at that time, be it Madonna or Princess Diana.”

While I’m not especially familiar with London culture, the Notting Hill neighborhood comes alive on screen, becoming a character in its own right. The idea that a famous actress could casually walk into a travel bookshop doesn’t feel far-fetched; the area is presented as a kind of cultural melting pot. Producers may have had concerns about placing Roberts and Grant so visibly on location, but Notting Hill simply wouldn’t work on a backlot—much like trying to recreate Beverly Hills on a soundstage. The authenticity of place is essential.

In fact, the only scenes filmed at Shepperton Studios were interior sequences, including William and Spike’s flat, the travel bookshop, and Tony’s restaurant. If anything posed a challenge during the 1998 production, it was filming at Leicester Square. Ultimately, Notting Hill features Anna and William attending a premiere at the Empire Leicester Square.

Musically, Notting Hill does a great deal of work through its soundtrack, including Elvis Costello’s cover of Charles Aznavour’s “She.” Bill Withers’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” underscores the film’s seasonal oner montage as William walks along Portobello Road. Then there’s “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” performed not by Bee Gees, as one might expect, but by Al Green.

Notting Hill may be built on an unlikely premise, but it’s the sincerity beneath it that makes it last. Thanks to the chemistry between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, the film feels less like a fantasy and more like something quietly believable. It’s a romantic comedy that not only works—it remains as charming as ever.

DIRECTOR: Roger Michell
SCREENWRITER: Richard Curtis
CAST: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Emma Chambers, James Dreyfus, Rhys Ifans, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee

Universal Pictures released Notting Hill in theaters on May 28, 1999. Grade: 4.5/5

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