Dear John
Directed by:
Lasse HallströmScreenplay:
Jamie LindenCinematography:
Terry StaceyComposer:
Deborah LurieCast:
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas, D.J. Cotrona, Cullen Moss, Gavin McCulley, Keith Robinson, Scott Porter, Leslea Fisher (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
John Tyree (Channing Tatum) is a handsome, soft-spoken Special Forces soldier visiting his father in South Carolina while on leave. Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) is a beautiful, idealistic college student from a wealthy Southern family, home for spring break. John and Savannah are from different worlds, but through a chance encounter at the beach, the two meet and are immediately attracted to each other. Their meeting turns into a whirlwind two-week courtship, and their feelings quickly deepen into an all-consuming, passionate love. Each finds in the other something they’d never known they were missing. When John is forced to return to his deployment and Savannah heads back to college, the couple promises to write one another. Through a continuous stream of letters, their love continues to blossom and a deeply romantic love story unfolds.
As time passes, John and Savannah are only able to see one another sporadically. John’s deployment overseas is extended, and Savannah’s life back home continues on. As the world becomes a more complicated place, Savannah is constantly worried about John’s safety, and John is torn between his dedication to his work and his desire for a life at home with Savannah. Against steadily increasing tension between their desires and their responsibilities, the couple struggles to keep their commitment firm. But when unexpected tragedy strikes back home, John’s return provokes an emotional confrontation, and the couple is forced to discover whether their love can truly survive. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (4)
Nicholas Sparks knows how to write about love that moves mountains. And even though the film doesn't reach the quality of the disarming source material, the story still works in a smaller space, sufficiently fateful. Although Channing Tatum never delivered such a good performance again and Amanda Seyfried wasn't yet skilled enough in the dramatic genre, it doesn't really matter. However, what bothers me after a few years is the changed ending compared to the book, which somewhat embarrasses the whole aura of emotional growth and turns Dear John into more of a sweet romance than anything else. I still understand those two, but now it's a bit too little.
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Nicholas Sparks is the king of kitsch among women's novels, and his adaptations are exactly that. This one is at least somewhat elevated by a reasonably capable Amanda Seyfried, but Channing Tatum can't seem to work his facial muscles and walks around like a dummy for the entire film. On paper, it may be less appalling, although I don't put much faith in that either. An implausible exaggerated story with so many tear-jerking decoys...
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Solid entertainment. There are no stupid romantic clichés , the people behind this film understood that if they were going for a romantic plot with a missing comedic undertone and they wanted it to be watchable, they needed to reflect on the whole thing a bit. It’s very similar with the casting of the main roles, it worked out quite well, especially in the case of Channing Tatum – he’s getting better every day. Occasionally, the film is slightly predictable, but it can be endured. Fortunately, it’s not lacking intelligence, though don’t expect anything groundbreaking, it is still Hallström, after all. He knows how to play with emotions in a very classic way that may be slightly derivative, but still has an impact.
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Nicholas Sparks is a certainty. You always know you're going to get something touching that also tries to tell a pretty interesting story. Unfortunately, the fact that Channing's character is a soldier here is completely unnecessary; he could just as well be an international businessman. But the characters and their relationships are interesting enough to captivate you.
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