If you are like me, then you were devastated over what happened to Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) at the end of Love Actually. As it turns out, it’s a lot more depressing than we originally thought.
According to The Hollywood Reporter (by way of Yahoo Movies), director Richard Curtis saw his beloved film in a theater for the first time since it premiered in 2003. Emma Freud, who acted as a script editor on the film, live tweeted the screening, which took place this past Saturday, all the while revealing some interesting tidbits about the film. One in particular revealed exactly what happened to Karen and Harry’s marriage at the end.
In the film, Karen finds out that her husband bought an extravagant necklace for another woman, put two and two together, and figured out he strayed. She confronted Harry about it after their kids’ Christmas play, and the film ends on an even more ambiguous note that sees Karen welcoming Harry back home from a trip. Freud confirmed that they stayed together, but “home isn’t as happy as it once was.”
When asked by another Twitter user whether or not Harry had a full-on affair, Freud confirmed our worst fears. “I begged Richard just to make it a flirtation, but no,” she wrote. “The whole way.”
[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/emmafreud/status/676056685732102145[/EMBED_TWITTER]
If it’s any consolation, Rowan Atkinson’s character had an even more benevolent purpose in the film. While the final version saw his jewelry salesman spend way too much time getting Harry’s gift packaged, Freud revealed that he originally “over-wrapped the gift on purpose to stop [Harry from] being able to [buy] the necklace. Because he was an angel.”
So the next time you watch Love Actually — which will probably be sometime around this time of year — grab an extra set of tissues because that seen where Karen is balling her eyes out in the bathroom to the sounds of Joni Mitchell will be even more unbearable.
