Archive for May, 2008
Remembering…6 Yrs Back
A Walk to Remember, a best seller novel written by Nicholas Sparks, came to theaters about six years ago. There is always a risk in how to portray a book when it hits the big screen but screenwriter Karen Janszen and director Adam Shankman both did a wonderful job in trying to portray the film in the best way that it could be to show off the book but still capture the attention of the audience. Adam Shankman brought to the screen a love story with a heartbreaking ending. The film brought smiles to my face and so many tears when I first saw it in theaters and it continues to do so till this day when I watch the DVD. Adam Shankman’s A Walk to Remember is a well transitioned film from a book, yet it has its flaws just as many others movies do. The flaws, though, surprisingly do not take away from the movie because they are very minor imperfections in some scenes with the acting.
As the movie opens up, rocker music plays in the background. The rock music symbolizes the teenagers in the scene. They act crazy, yell and hop on each others backs. They are the typical high school crowd in a small town. Landon, the leader of the group and the main male character in the movie shares the screen with two of his guy friends and two girls that hang out with them. As the kids act all tough, the scene is not convincing. The opening scene seems very uncomfortable to the viewers. The acting between the actors does not seem to flow well. The scene where the kids are having small conversations seem too rehearsed. Some of that can contribute to the screenwriter and the choice for the scene and lines. Much of the lines seem to be there to fill an opening scene that shows the rebellious side of Landon. Shane West plays his role nicely in the rest of the movie but even he could not pull off the beginning. West might have given others the sense that he was an amateur actor making his film debut.
The film follows the story of two people on their short but lifelong journey. Landon, a spoiled kid who thinks he owns everything gets in trouble with the law but the school decides to help punish him. He is forced to participate in the spring play but that play brings him to who he is meant to be with. The story then follows Jaime, a minister’s daughter who is very conservative lending him a helping hand. The chemistry between the two young actors is so pure. The play brings these two kids closer and they realize that all their lives, they never even looked twice at each other. Landon pursues to go out with Jaime later on but he has to go through her father which was an obstacle at first but later on the movie we find out the father’s intensions of not starting something that would have a short ending.
The true purpose of the film starts after Jaime and Landon started dating. Jaime shares a secret with Landon. She suffered from Leukemia! The scene where Jaime shared her secret was very intense and we could see the shock on Landon’s face. Walking on a regular night into an alley, Jaime has a look on her face. Landon of course sees and starts asking question. In this scene, Shane West (Landon) acting was nothing like the first scene. Mandy Moore (Jaime) shows emotion to the extent needed. Her eyes get red at first and then start to get teary as she confesses her illness to Landon. Landon also becomes teary and has emotions that are building up. The expressions and body language that West is able to pull off makes the scene a breaking point. After this, the acting is true and exceptional between the two. The movie is based on the day that Landon watches Jaime walk down the aisle, thus A Walk to Remember. It comes to show how he stays by her side and makes her wishes come true.
The hard part for a film that was a book first is the script. How much is kept in and how much is changed? For this book, a few slight changes were made such as the play in the book used to be a Christmas play and in the film, it was a spring play. Credit has to be given to Karen Janszen because small changes were made to fit the audience of our time. The book is set in a different time and some viewers might not have been drawn in.
This teen story, mini drama is Mandy Moore’s best movie role to date. The character and how she played in it was exceptional. To date, she has not come anything close to her performance in A Walk to Remember. She plays the character with a pure outtake and freshness. She shows the big heart that Jaime has and the softness she conveys especially towards other people. Being a minister’s daughter will teach you to forgive others and Moore captures the essence of a preacher’s daughter. She captures the seriousness of the situation. Other movies that she has done, it feels as she is all over the place. Moore played in the film Because I Said So along side with Diane Keaton, an honor some might say but Moore did not live up to the honor. Moore’s acting in the movie is dreadful. It is hard to watch her in the movie without feeling embarrassed. Personally, it seems as if Moore is taken an acting class and someone filmed it. that is why many might agree that her first movie was one to remember. That fresh face at 17 fit perfectly for the role of a preacher’s daughter. The outcast that had her own mind, and the attitude that she was not afraid to show her self as she was. That was what made Mandy Moore great in this movie.
Shane West plays the heartthrob and bad boy who was won over by the one that no one thought of. West starts off a little rough in the first scene as mentioned when he was with his group of friends but when scenes started with Moore, something happened and the acting became natural. He made the transition from bad boy to sweetheart very nicely with every scene, little by little; he would let his guard down with Jaime. Adam Shankman did a wonderful job with bringing this couple together. He shows every step they take to get to where they finally do. He focuses on the two characters and the connection they develop. Shankman also plays the whole movie just about right .The story takes place in a small town and the tone for the film is very straightforward. There are no flashbacks to the past or any of those sorts. Shankman focuses on the main point of the film, the connection that turns to true love between Jaime and Landon and the end that comes so soon after the beginning.
The ending of the movie let many disappointed. Girls in the audience were sobbing through the whole scene. The ending could not be changed if it was not the same in the book. Even if it could have been done, the ending is what makes the film a remembered one through time. The ending adds the heart to the film. It touches the viewers. We like happy ending but sad ending make us think more. When it is a sad ending, we leave the theater and can not stop going over to why it had to be that way. Around the time A Walk to Remember came out, another teen singer came out with a movie; Britney Spears. Spears starred in Crossroads, a film about three childhood friends becoming close again and even though there are some minor issues that are unhappy, we saw the movie and liked or not but then stopped thinking about it. The ending was a good one so we had nothing to stress about. But with A Walk to Remember, we leave and think, “Why did she die”? “They were perfect together”. “Now he is all alone without the love of his life”. We as people make movies real and sad ending win big with us. That is why Mandy Moore’s performance won people over while others just forgot that Britney was in a movie too. The ending justifies the film even though we might not like to see it end like that.
A Walk to Remember is about the journey that changed a person. Jaime was the one that was sick but Landon was touched by her and learned so much. Landon did not know what life had to offer until Jaime showed him. She showed him trust, hope, goals, faith and most importantly, unconditional love. That is how Landon changed and Shankman decided to put those words to tie the movie together at the very last scene. Jaime had passed away and Landon had just gotten into medical school. He comes back to their home town and goes to the place where they shared their first kiss. There Landon looking sharp thinks to himself how Jaime changed him. He then says, “Jaime saved my life. She taught me everything; about life, hope and the long journey ahead. I’ll always miss her but her love is like the wind, I can’t see it but I can feel it.” Shankman did a wonderful job at bringing the climax to show in the last scene. A Walk to Remember might have some flaws when it comes to acting but they are minor and don’t affect the quality of the movie. The director and the screenwriter try to capture the book in the film and do a breathtaking job. The chemistry between Moore and West just take our breaths away. For those that have not gone to see it when it came out six years ago, go and rent the DVD. It is definitely worth it.
Works Cited
A Walk to Remember. Dir. Adam Shankman. Perf. Mandy Moore, Shane West. 2002. DVD. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2002.
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