An Analysis of Notting Hill’s “A Walk Through the Seasons” Scene (Essay Sample)

In film and television, it is difficult to portray a time jump in a way that is clean, smooth, and absorbable to the audience. The 1999 film “Notting Hill”, discussed in Chapter 6 of “Film Studies: A Global Introduction”, challenged this by beautifully executing the passage of time in a way that evoked emotion and relatability.  At face value, Notting Hill is a romantic comedy riddled with cliches; boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl are not in the same place in life, boy and girl break up, boy and girl find their way back together. . However, upon further examination, there are aspects of this film that heighten it to an endearing, charming, and timelthe ess classic. The cinematography coupled with chemistry between actors transforms a simple story into a romantic classic. The scene I will be focusing on is called “A walk through the seasons”, and is in my opinion one of the most beautiful ways the passage of time has been depicted in film. 

The scene “Walking through the seasons” is special because the notion is quite simple yet quite rare; there is nothing happening while at the same time there is everything happening.  This scene occurs during the aftermath of William’s, played by Hugh Grant, breakup with famous actress Anna Scott, played by Julia Roberts. William is taking a stroll through the streets of Notting Hill through fall, winter, spring, and summer in a shot only 1 minute and 47 seconds long. This scene, while being so short, beautifully depicts the feeling of the world spinning around you while you are going through something personally traumatic. Time moves at a different speed for those heartbroken; flipping back and forth between fleeting moments and days you just wish would end. The loneliness and sorrow you can feel while being surrounded by dozens of people. Everyone, including William, is simply going through the motions of each season.

The first and most prominent aspect of this scene is the camera movements. The entirety of the shot is based in the Notting Hill Portabello Market, a long stretch of vendors selling everything imaginable. It was shot with the intention of looking like one long-running scene when in reality it is four shots cut together. The camera smoothly shifts from left to right following William down the streets, panning away occasionally to give the spotlight to townspeople  living their lives. As he walks, the seasons change. Beginning with the summer, the townspeople are dressed in warm-weather clothing. As William walks, it begins to rain, and people begin to take out their umbrellas as the lighting shifts to a greyer scale. The theme dramatically turns dark and somber. As William continues on we transition to the dead of winter; the screen brightens with snowfall as people are preparing for the holidays. Hugh Grant’s face during this scene stays starkly the same throughout the seasons; not even the weather changes seem to affect him. There are splashes of color seen in various booths, adding a light at the end of the tunnel feel. The snow melts fully, revealing the bright colors of Spring and regrowth in both the scene and Williams' character. 

Throughout this scene, there are a few recurring characters who are simultaneously going through life-altering events. The portion of the sequence I find so beautiful is a background woman who goes from being pregnant at the beginning of the scene to shopping with her baby at the end. During the year this sequence represents where Williams lie is stagnant, life is still happening and being created around him. Juxtaposed with this creation of life and happiness, another couple can be seen breaking up in the background of the scene. In the summer months, the couple is happy and physically affectionate, but in the last shot, the two are screaming at one another, again signifying how much can change in a short period. I found this to perfectly portray how beautiful and frightening time can be; affecting every structure in the world, no matter the size. 

The mise en scene of this sequence makes it so convincing. Mise en scene includes everything that appears in front of the camera, including sets, props, actors, costume, and lighting. As mentioned above, the lighting shifts as we move throughout the seasons. Beginning with a strong, bright summer sun with saturated colors to the grey muffled light of a winter day in London. The costuming is quite simple but effective as well. William is dressed in a pale blue button up with sleeves rolled up and black slacks. A jacket is swung over his should. As we reach autumn and winter, he puts the jacket on, and once we reach spring, the jacket is removed once again. The set dressing is constantly adapted to the new season in classic ways; umbrella covered people  in the fall, snow falling in the winter, and bright florals in the spring. It is visually dense, with large crowds the main character is walking through and around. All of these elements separately could be viewed as unnecessary or trivial, but when combined you can almost feel time moving and the headspace that the character is in. 

The auditory aspects of this scene also play an integral role to the story line. There is no audible dialogue from the characters; only visual cues. The song “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Witchers is playing throughout this scene is non-diegetic, meaning that it is external; not heard by the characters. The song choice is slow enough for you to sink into the scene while still having meaningful lyrics allowing you to inside the actors headspace. 

The “Walking through the seasons” scene of Notting Hill while only being 1 minute and 47 seconds long, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being stunted by sadness and heartbreak; the feelings of loneliness, and sorrow. What I enjoy most about this scene is how the feelings of heartbreak are being personified. Breaking up with your significant other is an event only traumatic to the two in the relationship, while the rest of the world continues living. The visual and auditory elements enhanced the storyline and the feeling of being stuck in your own head, replaying the memories of what once was.