Review of A Walk to Remember (2002) by Marlo K — 03 Oct 2016

A Walk to Remember is not just another cookie cutter chick flick. What differentiates it from all of the others is its caliber of acting, direction and writing. The film is based off of the book A Walk to Remember from the New York Times best selling author Nicholas Sparks. However if it weren't for Karen Janszen, the writer of the screenplay, we wouldn't have such a good movie. Yes it is a romantic drama, but it does a good job of avoiding a run-of-the-mill plot that can be easily anticipated by viewers. Rather this movie keeps the audience engaged through every moment.

In the film Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore) is a sweet, timid, God-loving teenager who is kind to everyone. Mandy Moore does a great job of embodying Jamie Sullivan. Moore is very convincing with her demure demeanor and her hush tone when speaking with others. As the movie progresses the audience can see Moore's transformation of Jamie. She speaks more clearly and her body language is more confident and sure. Moore's acting skills defiantly added to the believability of the story.

Landon Carter (Shane West) a delinquent who is punished by performing in the school play and volunteering on Saturdays and at a nearby school. Shane West also did a great job using his acting skills and masculine characteristics to grasp the attention of the audience. We get a glimpse of his character in the opening scene where yes he does dare a kid to jump off a tall tower into the water but he is the only one to save the kid and he doesn't rat his friends out when he gets caught. At first, you think it's the typical "good girl falls for bad boy" but it is surprisingly the other way around. The interactions between the two costars, for example, the way they were able to look in each other's eyes; it was as if they were a real couple. I do think that it's a matter of opinion but this is how I interpreted the film.

As mentioned before, Nicholas Sparks is an award-winning writer who has created some of the all time best love stores from The Notebook , The Vow, Dear John among others. So when he decides to sign a deal to turn one of his beloved books into movies it is important that the screen play does not ruffle any feathers for those die hard Nicholas Sparks fans. This was the job of Karen Janszen a tough thing to do when there are many factors to consider. I would say that Janszen does a phenomenal job of adapting the book to the big screen. The actors chosen for the rolls were also well selected in my opinion. They helped bring the book to life. Of course there are differences but in the book many of the key points aren't drawn out as long as they are in the movie, which I personally find to be a good thing when it comes to capturing and holding the audiences attention.

All of the intricacies come together to create a wonderful romantic drama that will out live the lives of the actors. The story of Jamie and Landon live on because of the dedication to there craft that Mandy Moore, Shane West, Karen Janszen, and Nicholas Sparks gave to the film.