What to watch on Netflix, Prime and Hotstar: Best movies and shows that take you to London
Don’t let the lockdown dampen your wanderlust. Here’s our list of shows and movies if you’re missing London.
About Time (Netfix)
It may be an unusual movie with which to start a list of films set in London (because, let’s face it there are so many others that are far more memorable) but About Time remains an underrated gem not just for its performances and fantastical storyline but also for the everyday London settings against which a young romance blossoms. Restaurants and bars, cobbled streets and quaint homes, even the mundane routine of taking the Tube becomes an experience to cherish when you have The One to share it with. Cheesy? Sure but what’s life without some cheese eh?
Notting Hill (Netflix)
Set in the eponymous neighbourhood of London, Notting Hill is perhaps as British as they come. The unlikely story of a Hollywood movie star falling for a local bookstore owner unfolds against the idyllic streets of Notting Hill and Portobello Market. The movie itself is a love letter to the neighbourhood where writer Richard Curtis once lived and its quirky residents who come alive in the oddball Spike, the groovy sister and the charming British couple friends of Hugh Grant’s William Thacker. The movie is a gem, there’s no doubt about that, but its popularity has caused Notting Hill to become something of a tourist destination that hosts lively markets during the weekends and heritage walks all summer that end at the familiar blue door of Will’s house.
Love Actually (Netflix)
This Christmas classic finally dropped on Indian Netflix late last year. Yet another Richard Curtis movie, Love Actually follows the lives of a dozen or so Londoners navigating their life through the holiday season. Even though portions of the movie are shot in France (eg the restaurant scene at the very end featuring ‘Bonita Aurelia’ and Jamie), most of it is set in different parts of London including Notting Hill (where Mark declares his love silently with large cue cards). Love Actually is an unwitting advert for London Tourism simply because of how lovingly it shows a metropolis you always thought had no heart.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (Hotstar)
Shot in Birmingham, Surrey, Camden and Imperial College, London, Kingsman: The Secret Service is everything you’d expect from a campy spy movie, albeit done in style. More than an ode to London, Kingsman doffs its hat to the long tailoring traditions of Savile Row and Bond Street that’ve defined what stylish menswear is for generations.
Fleabag (Amazon Prime)
The cultural phenomenon that made Phoebe Waller Bridge a global star and icon is also set in London. The flawed, messy, and unfiltered protagonist presents a gritty and real picture of the modern-day metropolis that’s a far cry from the soft-focus, fairy-tale view of Curtis’ movies.
Sherlock (Netflix)
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman star as the crime-fighting duo of Holmes and Watson in modern-day London across four seasons (and a feature special). The cutting-edge crime drama takes you through different neighbourhoods of London and in the feature special, even take you back in time. Needless to say, Benedict Cumberbatch is a treat but even he’d agree, London is the real hero here. For what would Sherlock Holmes be without 221B?
The Crown (Netflix)
The incredible story of the British royal family has been shot at some of the grandest locations in the country – from the Old Royal Naval College in the University of Greenwich, to Eltham Palace and Lancaster House among others. The Crown may not take you to the streets of London but, it takes you into the homes of the most famous royal family on the planet. And even you’d agree that few royal families have been more fascinating than the Windsors.
