Listen to some songs, and you're immediately transported to a time, a place, and a mood. At the end of one of the many movie montages this Oscars, we all were transported to a specific tear-jerking scene in a beloved movie – but it might've taken you a moment to figure out which one.
When you finally matched the song to the movie, you saw the scene unspool before your eyes: Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) running through the airport to find Joanna (Olivia Olson) in Love Actually. The song — appropriately titled "Joanna Drives Off" — was the perfect complement to the montage's string of romantic scenes from movies.
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Love Actually's poignant music paired with the most evocative love scenes in movies proved too much for Twitter to handle. Most of us were reduced to tears and sentimentality.
FUCK ME UP WITH THIS LOVE ACTUALLY SCORE IN THE MOST DRAMATIC MOMENT OF THE MONTAGE
— bobby finger (@bobbyfinger) March 5, 2018
I'm such a sucker for Oscar montages. (also I finally placed the music! It's Love Actually!)
— Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) March 5, 2018
the Oscars montage was good but then the Love Actually music started and I was captivated and cried wow can't wait to watch it again
— Michelle Brown (@mfb2796) March 5, 2018
Clearly, the Oscars knew how to elicit the desired reaction from the audience.
I SEE YOU #OSCARS AND YOUR EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION WITH THE LOVE ACTUALLY SCORE.
— Meredith Woerner (@MdellW) March 5, 2018
One Twitter user suggested the Oscars play the song throughout the ceremony. Might as well just keep up a good thing going.
I want them to play the love actually theme song ( when Sam runs through the airport) as everyone goes up to accept the Oscar #Oscars90
— reba t (@rebajesse) March 5, 2018
Love Actually came out 15 years ago, and is still culturally relevant. Every December, a new crop of think pieces arise debating whether the movie is a delight, or a schlocky mess of unrealistic portrayals of relationships. The hunger for Love Actually is real – new trivia about the movie is unveiled all the time. Most recently, Emma Thompson said that her relationship with actor Kenneth Branagh, which was rife with infidelity, helped her prepare for the infamous Joni Mitchell CD scene.
"I’ve had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom, then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer," she told The Telegraph.
All debate about the inherent worth of Love Actually aside, there's something we all can agree on: "Joanna Drives Off" is a six-minute triumph, and ode to all that is beautiful in love and movies. May it play in every montage.