Perhaps the main point of contention for repeat viewers of Love Actually comes from Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro’s storyline, when, after an unbearably long stagnant period as coworkers, they finally get all horned up for each other and initiate a bang session in her apartment — only for Linney’s character to quickly leave to help her institutionalized brother. Help the guy later!, some viewers screamed, But the abs and sweater combo!, this writer pleaded. Linney, tired of people thinking she got the short end of the narrative stick, is now defending the #familyfirst choice, mostly because she was still able to film an entire day of making out with that handsome dude.
“People feel sorry for me, but they shouldn’t. I really believe I got the best kiss in that movie, hands down,†she explained on Graham Norton, adding a personal tidbit that helped fuel the scene for both of them. “We were both very broken-hearted when we made that movie. He had just been dumped, I had just been dumped. I remember the day we had to film, we were both slumping to the scene. He was like, ‘Laura, my heart is broken,’ I was like, ‘So is mine.’ I turned to him and said, ‘Well, all day long we get to make each other feel better.’ †When she puts it that way … yeah, sounds iconic, but we’re mostly happy we’re not debating the creepiness of the cue cards.