Safe Haven Review

Safe Haven

3 stars out of 4

By Brett Takeshita

Another year, another Nicholas Sparks film. I will admit that I have enjoyed some of his films in the past. I think that The Notebook and A Walk to Remember are lovely. However, some, like Dear John, are not so good. Critics left and right are trashing Safe Haven for one main reason. But we'll discuss that later on. Just know that Safe Haven is a very effective love story. It's the best Nicholas Sparks film since The Notebook. 

Safe Haven follows Katie (Julianne Hough), a young woman with a dark past. She arrives in Southport, North Carolina to settle into a new town and start afresh. She meets Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widowed store owner with two young children of his own. Katie and Alex begin to fall in love, but Katie's past continues to haunt her, thus bringing danger and insecurity to her life. 

This film may sound like typical "Lifetime"-movie fluff, but it's much more than that. There's a surprising amount of suspense in Safe Haven that really took me by surprise. Think of this film as half romance and half thriller. It's a strange combination that works. Sure, this film has many of the Nicholas Sparks hallmarks, such as romantic kissing scenes in the rain, and beautiful boat rides at sunset. However, the elements of danger and violence seem uncharacteristic of Sparks. It's a nice change.

This is the first time that I've seen Julianne Hough act in a movie, and I have to say that she does a pretty nice job. She keeps most of her emotion underneath the surface and brings some good emotional restraint to her character. Josh Duhamel does a fine job as well. He is very convincing as the tender father and charming boyfriend. Hough and Duhamel have great onscreen chemistry, making the film all the more effective. It's also nice that they're both so attractive. They simply look good onscreen. (It helps that this film is gorgeously shot. The lighting and framing is so elegant. The cinematography greatly adds to this film).

So now, let's talk about the controversy of this film: the ending. Many critics said that the film was fairly good until the final couple minutes because there is a GIGANTIC twist at the end. Safe Haven is filled with a couple of surprising twists, but none are quite as crazy as the final one. I will say that I was completely shocked by the ending, but I didn't mind it. I found it to be strange yet interesting. It certainly didn't detract from the film like many critics suggest. But you have to see the film for yourself just to see the ending. 

Safe Haven isn't a perfect film, but for a romantic drama/thriller, it's quite good. I can't imagine seeing a better film for date night at the movies. Three stars out of four.