Starring: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders
Genre: Romance/Drama(/Nicholas Sparks)
Rating: M (aus) PG-13 (usa)
Running Time: 115 minutes
Leaving a troubled past behind her, Katie (Julianne Hough) settles down in the small town of Southport. Whilst initially unwilling to integrate herself with the locals, she is eventually won over by her neighbor Jo (Cobie Smulders) as well as convenience store owner Alex (Josh Duhamel) and his two kids, Lexie and Josh. No-one can escape their past however and complications arise when a figure from Katie's past comes looking for her.
This movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks book of the same name and hence follows his typical plot format of present day situations underlined with flashbacks which gradually undo your previous understanding of characters and situations. It is a clever plot device to add interest to what would otherwise be a very basic story line. If you've ever seen any of the other movie adaptions of his books, the most famous being The Notebook, then you will know that the central themes are fairly similar. They are romances, basically. But there is always as obstacle that prevents the two leads from getting together, or, in the case of Safe Haven, intervening after they have gotten together.
The non-linear plot worked very well for this movie though, providing a number of twists to the story which kept it interesting for the viewer. Although the big twist/reveal at the end was a bit of a stretch in my opinion, although in hindsight, was foreshadowed.
On a side note and at a psychological level, I found it really interesting that this movie demonstrated that we form our understandings based on the knowledge available to us, but that often our understanding is incomplete or even quite incorrect due to not conceiving the entirety of a situation. If you've seen the film you'll know to which storyline and characters I'm referring.
Whilst I am in serious mode, I will also say this; though of the Nicholas Sparks genre, the themes that undercurrent the protagonists are always quite serious and add depth to the story. Safe Haven, for example, touches on domestic violence and cancer and losing loved ones.
But moving on now, at its core this is a romantic drama, and it delivers well on that front. The afformentioned serious topics are present but really, Safe Haven is a very Hollywood style love story and that's what you should prepare yourself for if you watch this movie.
Although being, as I called it, a 'Hollywood style love story' featuring classic tropes such as getting caught in the rain, I thought there was a lovely realness to the relationship between the two main characters, Katie and Alex. Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel did a good job with the story and although relationships are always a bit rushed in a movie that lasts only a few hours, there was a nice development between their characters.
In summary, this was a nice enough film, the romance genre of it underlined with serious themes to add depth. Very Nicholas Sparks (who was in fact a producer of the movie).
My Rating
Until next time.
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