Ambica
Mehndiratta
AP
Language & Composition
Ms.
Taylor
12
February 2012
People say that opposites attract.
They say that one of the things that bring people together is love. Love can be
defined as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
(Dictionary); however in Landon (Shane West) and Jamie’s (Mandy Moore) world, “love
is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or
conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not
resentful” (IMDb). The movie A Walk to
Remember is an unforgettable romance that portrays how two people from completely
different worlds can come together and overcome impossible love. This movie
certainly raises the standards of a classic love story. Usually, for any good
drama or romance film, it has to have a story that is deeper than “I love you”,
something keeping the two people apart, a certain mood that shows off the
chemistry between the two actors, and seem realistic. This movie certainly
exceeds the criteria of a good movie as its acting, storyline plot, and overall
message of what love can do to you leaves you wanting more and wishing you
could watch it from the beginning once it is over.
Landon, who is a cocky, popular,
typical bad boy is sentenced to community service and is forced to participate in
the drama club’s upcoming play. He comes across a girl named Jamie who is simple
minded, conservative, religious and daughter of the town’s Baptist minister
(Peter Coyote). At first, matters are awkward and difficult between the two,
but as they spend more time together, sparks begin to fly and they end up
falling in love. Eventually Landon drops his bad boy act while Jamie learns how
to deal with her strict father. Jamie also reveals her biggest secret to Landon
which makes his eyes open even more on how precious life and time is. Once he
gets to know more and more of Jamie, he begins an unexpected journey that he
can never forget.
Their journey begins when they go on
their first date. Landon takes Jamie to a nice, quant restaurant, trying to
give her the best impression. As the date progresses, you notice the change in
Landon where he is stepping out of his comfort zone and really making an effort
as he has never done something like this before. The couple go to a few
different places after the restaurant and Jamie even realizes Landon’s efforts
once he takes her to a special place that is on her bucket list. “You’re acting
like a crazy person? What’s going on?...Right now you’re straddling the state
line…OK….You’re in two places at once” (IMDb). Landon’s acting of being a self-centered,
delinquent and transforming into a charming, chivalrous romantic really adds
depth to the story as it shows the influence of Jamie on him, “Jamie has faith
in me. She makes me want to be different, better.” It points out to the audience
where the character development is really starting and how it is. More
importantly, it points out how that love is forming.
Throughout the movie, their love for
one another grows fonder and fonder and becomes very deep. Once Landon is aware
of Jamie’s secret, his life is completely different. What shocks the audience
is the fact that Landon still stands by her side. You notice a new barrier has
been set between the two, but the strength of the couple’s love is what keeps
time moving. As they are with each other almost every day, Jamie realizes
something, “You know what I figured out today? Maybe God has a bigger plan for
me than I had for myself. Like this journey never ends. Like you were sent to
me…to help me through all this. You’re my angel” (IMDb). The passion that lies
between them comes across so strong to the audience that it makes you wish you
had someone like that in your life.
A
Walk to Remember was based off of Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel. The
direction of the movie forced the audience to look past the typical teenage
romance and unlock the deeper aspects of the human heart. The dynamic duo of Shane
West and Mandy Moore have wonderful chemistry that makes the love seem even
more real. Shane West that has received multiple awards, one of which is the
Young Hollywood Award in the Superstar of Tomorrow-Male category. Mandy Moore
as well has received the Young Hollywood Award and won a MTV Movie Award for
this movie in the category of Breakthrough Female Performance (IMDb). Their
inspirational relationship makes them discover truths which normally would take
a lifetime for people to learn (About: Hollywood Movies). The average rating
for this movie is 3.5 out of 5 stars (Rotten Tomatoes).
Overall, the story cohesion does a
phenomenal job of harnessing young, innocent love and showing the power within
it. It is more than just a chick flick since it captures the real essence of
love and emphasizes the strong feelings that people around us have for one
another. The best line from this movie which ties the whole message together
is, “Our love is like the wind…I can’t see it, but I sure can feel it” (IMDb). This
once again emphasizes the fact that the journey that Landon and Jamie take is
unforgettable as well as the whole movie itself as it specifies the word “our”.
That word targets how it all comes down to who’s by your side.
Many people say that love is blind
where you only need to see the beauty of someone’s heart. The rest does not
matter.
Works
Cited:
(Dictionary)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love
(About:
Hollywood Movies) http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aa010902a.htm
I think you did such a great job with this review! This is literally one of my favorite movies and I think you captured it perfectly! I think your description of the movie was perfect and it told just the right amount for people to want to see it! I like how you included the idea that this was based off a Nicholas Sparks book by also describing the awards that the movie and actors recieved. Another thing that I found really strong about your review was the way you started it off. The beginning of your review is a really good hook and it made me want to continue to read about the movie. Also, the inclusion of the specific quotes you used we worked in really well throughout. I think you did a really excellent job on this review!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you used several different definitions of the word "Love". It really made me consider the meaning and think about the effect of the movie. I also think you had an excellent tone for the blog!
ReplyDeleteTori VonKaenel
I really liked how you included the overall meaning of the movie in your evaluation. It seemed to me that your evaluation was about whether or not the movie succeeded in speaking to that meaning. However I would have liked to see more of your opinions based on the actual storyline, acting, costuming, etc. There were sentences of these opinions here and there but would of definitely helped to have those imbedded throughout. Overall though I thought you did a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite movies! I think you did a really great job of giving just enough information to intrigue the reader, but not revealing too much and ruining the movie. Your incorporation of quotes was excellent and really supported the points you were trying to make. Also, the beginning made me want to keep reading to find out more. I thought that it was a really good idea to mention the book written by Nicholas Sparks, too. Great job on this review!
ReplyDelete