The latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation falls flat on the romantic side of things, but a fantastic turn by Richard Jenkins and the story around him make the picture worth seeing if you can get through the sap surrounding some of the other elements of the film.
John is a Special Forces soldier in March of 2001, while on leave back home in Charleston he meets a college girl, Savannah, on spring break and the two sweeps each other off their feet and begin a romance that they feel is true love. They decide to stay together and write letters to one another until John’s last year of service ends but as we know 9/11 is looming and they are destined to be kept apart. Each of them also has some close “family” members that both have autism and these relationships are the moments of the film that are most rewarding. John’s father is a high functioning autistic and John was oblivious to his condition which Savannah spots after spending much of her life supporting her neighbor’s son who is autistic. The neighbor’s, Henry Thomas, wife has left him and her son behind as he struggles to raise a child on his own. These stories are where this movie shines and I wish the focus was more on these characters. [Read more...]