Nicholas Sparks is an author who most romantics would see as the person behind the inspiration of several films that were released between the early 2000s and mid 2010s. If there was a popular love story that was remembered the most during a certain year, it was likely based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. The one movie that people would likely remember the most is The Notebook (2004). A recurring theme that Sparks tends to throw into his stories are about fate and how what seems like coincidence turns into something deeper. This is sort of a neutral way of approaching love stories where the film crew doesn’t want to involve anything with religious undertones. In reality though, there’s a belief somewhere among the characters even if it is not explicitly mentioned.
Directed by Scott Hicks, the same person who helmed No Reservations (2007) and with a screenplay adaptation from Will Fetters. The story is about marine Logan Thibolt (Zac Efron) who finished his last tour in middle east. His new goal is to find the woman in the picture he found on the battlefield who kept him safe all those moments while in combat. The woman in the picture is Beth Green (Taylor Schilling), a wife who lost her brother in the same war Logan was in. Her separated ex-husband Keith (Jay R. Ferguson) wants custody over their child Ben (Riley Thomas Stewart) and makes family life difficult. Meanwhile, Beth is supported by her mother Ellie (Blythe Danner) who helps with the family business. Once Logan arrives though is when things get complicated and this is kind of expected. Since it is a love story, there’s always going to be someone who thinks the pairing of two people shouldn’t happen.
There are a number of positives though. The performances from all actors are done with nothing sounding questionable. The main characters are likeable and can be relatable for their circumstances. Even some of the supporting characters get development which isn’t something that gets focused on very often. There were plenty of areas where the story had a near miss and fell into predictable territory but it actually had some moments that were unexpected. The premise though really doesn’t make it sound completely original though. It just comes across too cliché for the main plot until it finally digs its heels into the group some. The other issue is part of the lead belonging to Logan. He’s mostly displayed as a guy with no flaws. Yes, because he’s from the marines he has his moments war flashbacks which can be problematic.
However, from all other perspectives he’s given a squeaky clean image. A lead can be likeable and still have major flaws. This was also several films into Efron’s career after Disney’s High School Musical franchise ended. So of course, he’s shedding the young boy image. Taylor Schilling had some movies before this but would get just a much attention the same year as this movie as Argo (2012) came out too. Blythe Danner who was a seasoned actress at this point had many roles prior as well as, like being in Futureworld (1976). Riley Thomas Stewart as Ben had experience too prior to the film, showing up in various TV shows. Jay R. Ferguson as Beth’s husband fits the character he was cast for almost too perfectly. Having a square jawline and the southern drawl makes it almost too easy to see where his role is in the film.
For camerawork, the director of photography was Alar Kivilo. Since much of the setting takes place in the south, plenty of wide open farmland is captured along with occasional swamps and internal house shots. Everything seems set up competently and that even includes the brief scenes in middle east. Kivilo also worked on Hart’s War (2002) and The Blind Side (2009). As for the film score, Mark Isham was the composer to this production. Unfortunately, it seems there wasn’t an official album release for this work but there should be. Even though this is not a franchise, Isham created a main theme for the story which appears throughout the film using piano. These kinds of traits are important as it gives the experience more of an identity the audience can remember it for. There only seems to be a soundtrack which features the songs used within the film.
The setup to the story feels generic as it sounds all too coincidental. To audiences’ surprise though the execution is not as predictable as one might think. The acting is well done, as it the music, camerawork and even the development of supporting characters.
