Dear John: Sparks fail to ignite

Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried star in Sony Pictures’ “Dear John.” Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence. Courtesy / Sony Pictures

Bestselling author Nicholas Sparks has yet another romance novel, “Dear John,” transformed into a feature film, continuing his string of grown-up romance films, aside from his upcoming teen romance drama “The Last Song,” starring Miley Cyrus, due out in March. The film is truly the chewed-up version of all of his movies combined into a yearning blockbuster.

Directed by Oscar-nominated Swedish filmmaker, Lasse Hallstrom, “Dear John” tells the story of the meeting between a young soldier and a laid-back college student in North Carolina during Spring Break before 9/11. They gradually fall in love, which develops into a six-year romance, communicated through various letters written back and forth between the two while he is off serving in the Iraq war. The longer he is off at war, the harder he finds it to hold on to her.

“Dear John” did make an effort to be a great romance drama with its opening scene showing John Tyree (Channing Tatum) spread on the ground in Germany narrating his last letter. It grabbed the attention of the audience and people wanted to know more. The cinematography was captivating from the hovering helicopters during the war to the close-up shots of the waves at the beach.

But, this is a kickoff for one of the problems in the film. Sparks has the tendency to overuse the beach setting. Count them: at least five out of the six. Is there another place to go for entertainment besides the beach?

The drama fell short with its lack of emotional development. The courtship of John and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) was shown in a series of back-to-back shots in a matter of minutes. Further into the movie, as John silently reads his letters from Savannah, the audience is left stumped, resorting to reading the lack of expression on his face. Well, what did she say? At one point, the audience is expected to sympathize with Savannah and it does not happen. Somewhere in the mix, there was difficulty translating their relationship through the screen. Another relationship the screenwriter, Jamie Linden, could have developed more was of John and his father (Richard Jenkins). While the audience is aware of his father’s mental state, with the obsessive compulsive disorder and certain foods on certain days of the week, the film decides to wait until the middle to uncover the real issues between father and son.

The film did do a good job at showcasing the American heroes which were the soldiers of the service on and off the battle field. The film showed their support for one another as well as their urge to suit up after the World Trade Center bombing. John’s character seemed more comfortable in the army than in his own hometown which was another possible subject that could have been clearly expressed. Towards the beginning of the film, John’s anger is showcased but no one really confronts the real issue. It is brushed off with jokes.

While the storyline struggled to hold itself up, the actors continued to thrive, knocking out each of their individual performances. Veteran actor and Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins did a wonderful portrayal as the distant-minded father.

When this film was made, it was already up against the obstacle of existing as a novel, so it would not hurt to assume that the many questions left unanswered in the film are answered in the reading. “Dear John” has the aspirations of a lion but the lungs of a cub. Besides the war element, it is nothing that has not been done before.

C –Ashley Atkins