Monday’s Movie Musings; Safe Haven (2013)

Monday’s Movie Musings is a new feature here at A Daydreamer’s Thoughts. The idea of this feature is to have all of my movie things occuring in one place. Whether it is a review, article, or something else, this feature will just be all about movies.

This week I have for you all a review of Safe Haven

Directed By: Lasse Hallstrom
Adapted By: Leslie Bohem and Dana Stevens
Written By: Nicholas Sparks
Production Company: Nicholas Sparks Productions
Main Cast: Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders, and David Lyons
Format: Cinema (OUT NOW)
Add It: IMDB

Summary:
(From IMDB) 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.

Running Away

I have always loved Nicholas Sparks. Yet, despite that, I’ve actually only read two of his books. I found him to be incredibly talented and sped through both of those books before clutching my chest and crying when they finally ended. Sparks has a way to bring his stories to life with hard-hitting emotions and truly strong characters that manage to get under your skin. So when I head about Safe Haven hitting the cinemas, I knew that it would be a film I wanted to see. Ultimately I would have loved to have read the book first, but it was nice to be able to watch the film and see it as its own entity. I do believe at some point I will read the book, but I will be leaving it for just a little while so that I don’t let the film ruin the book at all. Needless to say, then, that this film was one that I truly enjoyed and am very glad I went to go and see.

Is Never Easy

This part of the review is actually really difficult for me to write because I have such conflicting thoughts on the plot. On the one hand, I absolutely loved the film and the way it all came together and everything that happened throughout the film but then, on the other, there was a twist that occured right at the end of the film that changed my thoughts on the film completely. It was so irritating, in fact, that it made me knock a star from the rating which I rarely do, and ultimately had the chance to change my opinion of the entire film irrevisibly. It was a twist that was unnecessary and unneeded and just, yeah, ruined a large part of the film for me. Aside from that, however, everything else about the plot I absolutely adored. I was enamoured with the way it all played out and how it all came together and am certain that once again, Sparks will manage to blow me away with his writing.

But Sometimes

A large reason why I liked this film so much was how brilliant the cast was. I really felt that this film was cast incredibly well as all of the actors and actresses just played their parts brilliantly. You could really see the emotions on their faces, could understand all of the little quirks they had and you could just imagine these characters to be real people, which is always great from a film. For me, though, the star of this film was none other than Mimi Kirkland who played Lexie. She was an absolutely adorable young girl who showed her talents as an actress and really had me “awwwhing” throughout the entirety of the film. If I have a girl, I want her to be like Lexie. Then, of course, there was Josh Duhamel who is always lovely to see on screen and played the role of the bumbling, yet strong and protective, male extremely well. Julianne played her role with ease as well, allowing the audience to really feel her happiness and her fear, her sadness and her anger and really allowed them to get to know her and to feel her sorrow. Finally, it would be impossible to complete this review without mentioning David Lyons who was incredible in this film. I was in awe by his acting and really felt tense around him, and afraid of his character. I was just blown away by him completely and utterly.

Things Just Fall

There is really only praise to be given to the cinematography and editing of this film. It was so well formed that it truly made the tension occur. It caused you to be on the edge of your seats one minute and then relaxing again the next only to throw you through a loop again the next. It was cunning and perfect, and just really suited the storyline completely. There were moments when the camera would show something and it would be so perfectly placed and edited in that it left the audience guessing and it just made the film so much more. There were many different tricks, twists, and tidbits in this film that just truly made it so much more than it should have been. It is clear that the director not only knew how to direct, but also knew which people to trust in to create this film to be everything it could have been.

In To Place

If you haven’t worked it out by now, I really, really, enjoyed this film. It is one that I would easily watch again and again without fail. There were many moments in this film that had me laughing, a fair few that filled me with warmth, and others that made me feel cold with dread and clenching from the rising tension. It was a film with the perfect mix of emotions so that when it’s finally over you’re left feeling a little exhausted as you realise you’ve been through so many different thoughts and feelings and wonder how you’re even able to continue on afterwards. This is a film that is powerful, entertaining, tense, and action-packed. Yet, it is also a film that is warm, full of love, and one that makes you feel all the good emotions in the world. For me, that is the perfect balance in the film. As mentioned above, if it had been a film that didn’t have the final plot twist, it would have been a perfect film but alas, that final moment really did ruin it a little for me. But, at the same time, I’m curious to read the book and see if it occurs in there…

Have you watched or read Safe Haven? What are your thoughts on the book or the film? I’d love to hear!