½
USA 2014
Starts March 27, 2014
Directed by: Shana Feste
Writing credits: Shana Feste, Joshua Safran
Cast: Gabriella Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Bruce Greenwood
Length: 103 minutes
It is graduation day and David (Pettyfer), who is handsome but comes from a humble home, never got the chance to ask Jade out while they were still in school. Jade (Wilde) is beautiful and rich, but a loner since her brother died. When Jade and her family celebrate her graduation at the restaurant where David works as a valet parking attendant, they finally meet and begin dating. Jade is supposed to follow her father’s and dead brother’s path as a heart surgeon, something that Jade’s father (Greenwood) now sees threatened by the impulsive and seemingly violent David. When things start to become more serious between Jade and David, Jade’s father tries to keep them apart. When it becomes known that David has had some trouble with the law in the past, the young lover’s relationship falls on hard times.
This movie is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Scott Spencer and is also a white-washed remake of a film from 1981. You need to keep that in mind if you want to enjoy this movie for what it is: a romantic drama. While the novel and the film from 1981 deal with obsession accompanying first love, this newer version rather deals with the obstacles true love may come with. The question is, whether love can actually be endless, something that works on two levels in this movie. There is the obvious “star-crossed-lovers” theme. Also, there is the question of what happens “when you are loved and that love is taken from you”. Ultimately, the latter is the reason for the former topic never to go grow old. Sadly enough, it is the loss of love (not necessarily romantic) that often turns out to be true love’s biggest foe.
This movie doesn’t offer characters with a terrible depth. Yet, it was adorable to watch the abandon, passion and innocence of Jade’s and David’s love. It was also nice to see David bring life into Jade’s family. There is a bit of overwrought drama in this film, but the two lover’s sincerity did protect it from kitsch most of the time. Cynical people calling themselves realists may argue that movies like this are obsolete, since a love like this just doesn’t exist. That is true. Mostly, if you don’t let it. ()