This is a quintessential Nicholas Sparks movie, and is built on the same premise as most romantic films. Two people meet, fall in love, and in the end they overcome some obstacle to end up together. The cliché was prominent throughout and regardless of other plot points, did admittedly lead to point loss for unoriginality. This movie, while it did have an uncommon plot twist, was lacking in other aspects.
Somehow the movie went very fast but felt quite long. At around one hour and fifteen minutes, I felt the movie was over, though it had half an hour to go. There were several situations that seemed rushed; the relationship between the main characters went from cold to hot very quickly, the change in attitude from the son flipped with no reason or warning, Alex rescinded his entire reaction to the APB in a matter of minutes, and the initial fear displayed by Katie subsided too soon for someone who was supposed to have suffered years of abuse. And yet I felt like there needed to be more development on the abuse she suffered. Perhaps a short scene after fleeing on the bus that displayed the abusive relationship. The back-story of the mother's death was also breezed over and had the air of an afterthought intended to tie up a few ends. It would almost have served the story better if it was left out.
Which brings me to the next markdown. Julliane Hough may have decent acting skills but seemed to be lacking something as the leading lady in this specific movie. She was able to emulate being scared and someone on the run, but fell short of truly convincing as a perpetually battered woman who feared for her life. Her portrayal of Katie failed to make me truly feel sorry or root for her. I neither connected with her character nor worried for her welfare. She simply didn't seem like someone who had emotionally or physically battered for an extended period of time, and it did affect how I felt throughout the flick.
My third note that led to a markdown was the lack of physical evidence of abuse. Regardless of previous incidences, the fight that occurred immediately before Katie fled would have led some quite visible marks. Yet, there was not a single bruise, scratch, scrape, or mark of any kind on her. This, while not pertinent to the plot line necessarily, was distracting and left me wondering why they were essentially missing from her body.
My final comment on deductions is the final scene, the realization that Katie had been talking to the ghost of the dead mother. This was quite the far fetch and pulled from the believability of the story, which was already being compromised by other problems. There was no similar element in the film or understanding of why they made that choice, save for the fact that it was in the book. More realistic and relatable to the story would've been if she was a sister or close friend of the mother and could not leave until Alex and the children would have someone else, as per a promise she made as the mother was dying. The idea of her being a ghost came out of left field and left me perplexed rather than shocked, amazed, inspired, or anything the writer was probably going for.
The film was not entirely without any good points however. Like it is mentioned, there were some original and not frequently used plot points. Also, I did throughly enjoy the talent of Mimi Kirkland, who played Lexi. Her skill and believability were beyond that of a child starring in her very first movie. Her performance made me look forward to seeing her in other productions. Similarly, Josh Duhamel was surprisingly well-acted and reminded the audience why he has had success thus far in the industry, which is sometimes forgotten. He was convincing as a struggling father, a grieving widow, and a small town man who was a charming gentleman, and yet was facing a moral dilemma. As was mentioned earlier, expanding the back-story would have allowed for him to expand on his emotions in the movie and really let the viewer connect with him, his sense of loss, and where he was emotionally in dealing with that loss. There was a good sense of chemistry between him and Houghs and it certainly helped the film. As a last note on acting ability, David Lyons also portrayed a crazed and abusive husband well and was the only saving grace to the the relationship between his character and Katie in general.
All in all I give this movie a 5 or even a 5.5, but not quite a 6. There was a mix in talent in the cast, a split on the originality and surprise elements in the plot, and an ending that seemed straight out of another genre of movie and did not fit in with the rest of the film. I would recommend it for someone who especially enjoys romantic movies and love stories but it is not the first or the second Nicholas Sparks movie I would suggest.
Somehow the movie went very fast but felt quite long. At around one hour and fifteen minutes, I felt the movie was over, though it had half an hour to go. There were several situations that seemed rushed; the relationship between the main characters went from cold to hot very quickly, the change in attitude from the son flipped with no reason or warning, Alex rescinded his entire reaction to the APB in a matter of minutes, and the initial fear displayed by Katie subsided too soon for someone who was supposed to have suffered years of abuse. And yet I felt like there needed to be more development on the abuse she suffered. Perhaps a short scene after fleeing on the bus that displayed the abusive relationship. The back-story of the mother's death was also breezed over and had the air of an afterthought intended to tie up a few ends. It would almost have served the story better if it was left out.
Which brings me to the next markdown. Julliane Hough may have decent acting skills but seemed to be lacking something as the leading lady in this specific movie. She was able to emulate being scared and someone on the run, but fell short of truly convincing as a perpetually battered woman who feared for her life. Her portrayal of Katie failed to make me truly feel sorry or root for her. I neither connected with her character nor worried for her welfare. She simply didn't seem like someone who had emotionally or physically battered for an extended period of time, and it did affect how I felt throughout the flick.
My third note that led to a markdown was the lack of physical evidence of abuse. Regardless of previous incidences, the fight that occurred immediately before Katie fled would have led some quite visible marks. Yet, there was not a single bruise, scratch, scrape, or mark of any kind on her. This, while not pertinent to the plot line necessarily, was distracting and left me wondering why they were essentially missing from her body.
My final comment on deductions is the final scene, the realization that Katie had been talking to the ghost of the dead mother. This was quite the far fetch and pulled from the believability of the story, which was already being compromised by other problems. There was no similar element in the film or understanding of why they made that choice, save for the fact that it was in the book. More realistic and relatable to the story would've been if she was a sister or close friend of the mother and could not leave until Alex and the children would have someone else, as per a promise she made as the mother was dying. The idea of her being a ghost came out of left field and left me perplexed rather than shocked, amazed, inspired, or anything the writer was probably going for.
The film was not entirely without any good points however. Like it is mentioned, there were some original and not frequently used plot points. Also, I did throughly enjoy the talent of Mimi Kirkland, who played Lexi. Her skill and believability were beyond that of a child starring in her very first movie. Her performance made me look forward to seeing her in other productions. Similarly, Josh Duhamel was surprisingly well-acted and reminded the audience why he has had success thus far in the industry, which is sometimes forgotten. He was convincing as a struggling father, a grieving widow, and a small town man who was a charming gentleman, and yet was facing a moral dilemma. As was mentioned earlier, expanding the back-story would have allowed for him to expand on his emotions in the movie and really let the viewer connect with him, his sense of loss, and where he was emotionally in dealing with that loss. There was a good sense of chemistry between him and Houghs and it certainly helped the film. As a last note on acting ability, David Lyons also portrayed a crazed and abusive husband well and was the only saving grace to the the relationship between his character and Katie in general.
All in all I give this movie a 5 or even a 5.5, but not quite a 6. There was a mix in talent in the cast, a split on the originality and surprise elements in the plot, and an ending that seemed straight out of another genre of movie and did not fit in with the rest of the film. I would recommend it for someone who especially enjoys romantic movies and love stories but it is not the first or the second Nicholas Sparks movie I would suggest.
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