The Vow Movie Review
When a
movie calls itself “The Vow” you assume it takes its love relationship
seriously. However, with a collaboration
of writing from Jason Katims, Abby Kohn, Stuart Sender, Marc Silvestein and
director Michael Sucsy, we get a story that is so unbelievable the relationship
feels almost elementary. We see a story
that has potential to explore real-life problems and difficulties handled at a
ten-year-old difficulty level. The
writers took a complex story and digested it into a chewable tablet form for
the viewer. “The Vow” made the least of
its concept that love is that bond that keeps us together-- but instead offered
an unobstructed performance from charismatic actors who did the most with the
story they were given.
The theme
of the movie “The Vow” is moments.
Moments that have the power to impact and change your life forever. The meeting of two complete strangers, Paige
and Leo, was the biggest impact moment the two had experienced. After a car accident puts Paige (Rachel
McAdams) in a coma she wakes up with severe short-term memory loss. Her husband Leo (Channing Tatum) works to win
her heart all over again. The wedding
vows, the “get well” box Leo gives Paige outside her restaurant, and the
sculpting scraps scenes have “The Notebook” love potential awe factor. The only problem is all of these scenes are
within the first fourth of the movie.
The rest of the movie dedicated to Leo’s (lack of emotional) struggle to
regain his wife’s admiration back is so unbelievable it leaves the viewer with
little to connect with.
Director Sucsy debuted with his first
big screen film after winning the Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Made for Television
and walking away with six Emmy awards for his HBO film “Grey Gardens” in
2009. Sucsy chose a flawless cast, with
the veteran experience of McAdams acting in her third romantic movie- a formula
that has worked well for her- she is able to carry the inexperienced yet raw
talent and eye-candy factor of Channing Tatum.
McAdams is a much more versatile and skilled actor than in projects like
“The Notebook” or “Time Traveler’s Wife.”
Tatum said “she [McAdams] has the true talent to make any line work”
because “she commits and believes in it… she can make anything sound real and
amazing.” McAdams’ vulnerability and
transparency in her roles made her the perfect fit to play an amnesia patient
that wakes up to a confused world she’s never known.
McAdams’ role
was difficult because there’s a fine line between forgetting your husband and
treating him as a stranger, while still convincing the audience you’re going
through this process of having lost your memory so that the audience can still
root for you. At the beginning of the
movie, Paige was sure of her life, yet when she wakes up and doesn’t recognize
her husband and learns that she’s estranged from her family, she sees big holes
in her life that need to be filled in.
“The Vow”
is based on a true story, and while the plot’s logic aims at being consistent
with realism, the emotional logic of this situation demands something much
stronger. Leo’s response to his wife’s
accident (sulking next to a candy machine), her failure to respond to his
physical advances (he hides behind the wall, eyes closed) or even when she
can’t stand the music she used to like (he somewhat jaded turns the record
player off) were the furthest things from realism. After waiting the whole movie to see the
couple fall in love again, the patient audience deserves something more than
the stereotypical walking off in the distance to live “happily ever
after.” The long tug out of amnesia,
leaves the audience in a state of somewhat love a coma.
Before
entering the theatre, stop and remind yourself that this is not the next
Nicholas Sparks film. But this is a
movie of high anticipations, unrealistic emotions, strained conversations, and
unsatisfying endings. “The Vow” is less
of a commitment to one another as it an unrealistic depiction of a realistic
situation. The passion and power that a
couple must have in order to put a marriage back together when one person
doesn’t remember the other would better represent a movie titled “The Vow.” If the director would have modeled the events
more closely after Kim and Krickett Carpenter’s true life story, the movie
would be drastically improved. This film
has a few swoon-worthy lines and a talented cast which makes it romantic enough
to score largely with Valentine’s Day couples seeking a perfect date movie, but
the holes in the script are bound to leave the viewer wanting more.
The Vow opened Friday, February 10th
at the Carmike 12, the Fairchild Cinemas 12, and Walla Walla Grand Cinemas
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