Another Nicholas Sparks adaptation

Safe Haven (2013)
Certified: 12
Duration: 115 minutes
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders, David Lyons, Mimi Kirkland
KRS release

Safe Haven is another adaptation of a novel by Nicholas Sparks, and has all the same ingredients found in all his novels and subsequent movie adaptations.

Since the success of The Notebook (2004), Hollywood producers have been in search of other Sparks adaptations and the author has subsequently accommodated Tinseltown with plenty of romantic offerings.

Julianne Hough is Katie, a young woman from Boston who is in a lot of trouble. Thus she decides to get on a bus and go on the run. Hunting her is detective Tierney (David Lyons) who suspects her of a murder.

At some point Katie ends up in Southport, a small town on the coast that could either be another stop or the safe haven she is looking for. She gets a job as a waitress and finds lodging in an apartment in the woods.

Here she meets Jo (Cobie Smoulders), another woman who also has her reasons to stay at Southport, which is seemingly cut off from the rest of the world.

Katie’s life starts getting complicated when she meets Alex (Josh Duhamel) who is a widower, has two children – Josh and Lexie (Noah Lomax and Mimi Kirkland) – and runs the convenience store. Katie does not want to start off any emotional relationship but sparks start to fly. Meanwhile, she is always wary that her past may come back to haunt her.

Hough, recently seen in the new incarnation of Footloose and Rock of Ages, is a fresh face and delivers a likeable screen presence. She is simply adorable in an almost Bambi-like manner.

Duhamel has a goofy and relaxed screen presence and here he manages to make something else out of the widower role he is saddled with. His role comes with a lot of predictable elements but it is to his merit that he carries it so well.

The two together are the best elements of the film. Their on-screen chemistry is tangible and will help the viewer who is not easily addled by romantic movies to enjoy the film. The two look good and natural together and so, while it is obvious that they will fall for each other, it is also something that you would want them to.

With the main duo’s earthiness and not overdoing things in the emotional stakes, it was up to director Lasse Hallström to give this film its necessary sugar-coated vision. The director of Cider House Rules (1999) and Chocolat (2000) has already directed a Sparks movie – Dear John (2010) – but here makes a better job out of it and leaves more of a personal stamp.

The film also shares several common elements in its story with the Julia Roberts starrer Sleeping With the Enemy (1991). This is evidenced mostly in the character that is played by Tierney who hams it up in an over-the-top manner.

The resulting movie has a wonderful screen couple and enough plot twists to keep the guys interested. It is an excellent choice for a date movie.