Safe Haven (2013)
Directed by Lasse Hallström
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
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But those going into Safe Haven expecting The Notebook redux will come out of it terribly disappointed as it quickly degenerates into a Sleeping With The Enemy rip-off and is undone by a convoluted story, contrived characters and a lot of shameless manipulation on the part of the filmmakers.
The set-up's ridiculous (and done much better in Sleeping with the Enemy starring Julia Roberts ) and the characters are of the one-dimensional variety taken to an extreme level.
Though never far from resembling 1991's "Sleeping with the Enemy" and the Stephen King tome "Rose Madder," "Safe Haven" isn't satisfied to exist solely as a well-lit, idyllically-set love story, but further involves by adding mystery, thriller, and other surprising genre elements into the mix.
If you’ve seen the Julia Roberts thriller “Sleeping With the Enemy,” you can add another checkmark to the list of familiar ingredients in this potboiler.
The 1991 film Sleeping with the Enemy featured Julia Roberts as Laura Burney, a nice young woman trying to restart her life after escaping an abusive and controlling husband.
The movie, opening in theaters Thursday, plays like a sanitized remake of "Sleeping with the Enemy," right down to an over-the-top climax set during a fireworks display.
Culminating in a Fourth of July parade and a life-or-death struggle amidst fireworks over the harbor, "Safe Haven" comes close to mirroring 1997's " I Know What You Did Last Summer " of all things.
So you know a murderous stalker will eventually arrive, in honor of Robert Mitchum in "Cape Fear."
Yep, she’s on the run, and we don’t know why until well into this sudsy soap opera, which operates like a cross between Love Story and The Fugitive, all the way down to the hair dye used to create a new identity.
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Cobie Smulders (TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”) appears as the first friend Katie makes in Southport, and with her dark looks and tomboyish ways, bears an amusing resemblance to Suzanne Pleshette in Hitchcock’s The Birds, but her fate, although the major twist of the movie, is not nearly as bloody.
It’s kind of like North By Northwest, if the big twist wasn’t “supposed” to be ridiculous.
Lending fine support, Cobie Smulders (2012's " The Avengers ") plays Katie's new friend and confidante Jo, while David Lyons (2010's " Eat Pray Love ") takes major advantage of his glazed-over eyes (kudos to the make-up people) as the hard-drinking Detective Tierney.
The character (David Lyons, "Eat Pray Love," TV's 'Revolution') is also a cardboard villain, a raging monster.
Director Lasse Hallström, who previously adapted another Nicholas Sparks book, " Dear John ," in 2010, improves upon his work there because the script by Leslie Bohem (2011's " The Darkest Hour ") and Dana Stevens (2002's " Life or Something Like It ") is better and not as narratively pedestrian.
Lelise Bohem, who penned the action/horror The Darkest Hour, partners with City of Angels screenwriter Dana Stevens and the two seem to battle over if the film is a cute romance drama or a thriller.
Filmed on location in Southport, Terry Stacey's (2011's " Take Me Home Tonight ") cinematography is ravishing, from the golden hues of twilight hour, to the tranquility of the seaside surroundings, to an encroaching aesthetic shadowiness as danger draws near.
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Considering this is his second Sparks film, following 2010's "Dear John," it appears that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lasse Hallström ("My Life as a Dog," "The Cider House Rules") has become Sparks' go-to guy.
And he's got his hooks deep into director Lasse Hallström (My Life as a Dog and The Cider House Rules), who's on board here for a second tour of duty (after Dear John).
But director Lasse Hallstrom, who helmed “Dear John,” along with “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” “My Life as a Dog,” “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat,” fails to elicit much suspense.
And it's all directed by Lasse Hallström who—despite being capable of making such films as My Life as a Dog, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen—continues to make Sparks adaptations like Dear John and Safe Haven.
The Swedish moviemaker Lasse Hallström was brought to Hollywood following the success of the funny, moving, deeply honest My Life As a Dog .
If you’ve only seen Lasse Hallström’s most recent films, you might well take him to be a moderately talented director specializing in overly sentimental films like A Dog’s Purpose (2017), which I actually liked it more than most critics, and Safe Haven (2013), which currently holds a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes .
Even this film is directed by the esteemed Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Shipping News).
The glorious badness of Safe Haven comes from the way the veteran director Lasse Hallström applies the greeting-card tastefulness he’s used for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Something to Talk About, The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Dear John, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen to a movie whose punch line is so delightfully absurd that even after you pretty much know what’s coming you spit out your Pepsi anyway.
And it's all directed by Lasse Hallström who—despite being capable of making such films as My Life as a Dog, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen—continues to make Sparks adaptations like Dear John and Safe Haven.
And secondly, the film benefits from the man at its helm, Lasse Hallstrom (the What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen director who also helmed Dear John, one of the better Sparks adaptations, though that’s hardly great praise).
His American work, mostly mainstream soft-focus fare like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, has been uneven, but he still has considerable strengths.
Even this film is directed by the esteemed Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Shipping News).
Hallstrom directed Dear John, which was also based on a Sparks novel, and has adapted films from novels before — notably The Shipping News and The Cider House Rules.
Considering this is his second Sparks film, following 2010's "Dear John," it appears that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lasse Hallström ("My Life as a Dog," "The Cider House Rules") has become Sparks' go-to guy.
Maybe it’s the realization that she’s stuck in a movie by Lasse Hallström, aka Mr. Hugs, The Great Homogenizer, the King of Creamed Corn, maker of Dear John and The Cider House Rules.
And he's got his hooks deep into director Lasse Hallström (My Life as a Dog and The Cider House Rules), who's on board here for a second tour of duty (after Dear John).
This one is directed by Lasse Hallström, a filmmaker who once made movies like “My Life As A Dog,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” and “The Cider House Rules.”
The glorious badness of Safe Haven comes from the way the veteran director Lasse Hallström applies the greeting-card tastefulness he’s used for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Something to Talk About, The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, Dear John, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen to a movie whose punch line is so delightfully absurd that even after you pretty much know what’s coming you spit out your Pepsi anyway.
Alas, the filmmakers - Lasse Hallstrom ("Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," "The Cider House Rules") in the director's chair and Gage Lansky and Dana Stevens behind the keyboard -- can't leave well enough alone and just let that budding romance build and play out on its own.
But those going into Safe Haven expecting The Notebook redux will come out of it terribly disappointed as it quickly degenerates into a Sleeping With The Enemy rip-off and is undone by a convoluted story, contrived characters and a lot of shameless manipulation on the part of the filmmakers.
Adapted from a novel by chick-flick specialist Nicholas Sparks ( The Notebook , Dear John , A Walk to Remember ) and mercifully devoid of his usual heavy sentimental hand, Safe Haven is an appealing, compelling romance that will no doubt thrill the ladies, and not be too terribly much of a chore for their menfolk to endure.
Hoping to re-bottle the lightning captured in “The Notebook” and “Dear John,” romance packager Nicholas Sparks has given his usual formula some sharp edges in “Safe Haven.”
Well timed for Valentine’s Day, this film based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks (“The Notebook,” “The Lucky One,” “Dear John”) is another take on fateful love amid rustic settings in a Southern coastal burg.
Romance based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John).
It should be no surprise for anyone familiar with the saints/sinners characterizations of Nicholas Sparks stories (“The Notebook,” “The Lucky One”) that both characters are running from major pain, but are up for a relationship when a perfect, gorgeous specimen comes along.