(Romantic Drama, 2012)
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Yes, I am reviewing another romantic drama! I can’t help it if the best films are😉 Yes, again; it came out in 2012! Some people don’t like watching films that are older than a year or two, and I’m trying to understand: why not? These are great films you probably could and should have watched in the year they came out, but either hadn’t heard about it or never got around to it. Whatever era it is in, whatever year it came out; whether you weren’t born yet, you were in diapers, wearing braces or grounded for the whole of that year, it takes nothing away from the film. If it was a great film then, it’s still a great film now!
Having said that, let’s get right into ‘The Lucky One’
The film is a romantic drama based on a novel of the same name that was written by Nicholas Sparks, an American Author famous for writing romantic novels that have been produced into successful films e.g. 2010’s American romantic war-drama, Dear John, 2004’s American romantic-drama, The Notebook, 2013’s American romantic drama-fantasy, Safe Haven.
The screenplay was by Will Fetters, the screenwriter for the 2018 award winning American romantic musical-drama, A Star is Born.
Scott Hicks, the director of several films, including 2001’s mystery-drama and thriller, Hearts in Atlantic is credited for directing this film.
Logan Thibault (Zac Efron) is a US Marine stationed in Iraq. One day, he notices something very unusual - a photo among the rubble. He walks over to pick it up, and escaped death by an unexpected explosive attack that left many in the vicinity dead. The picture was that of a pretty woman and had a scribble at the back that read Keep Safe x; a message obviously intended for the owner. Logan’s subsequent attempts to find the soldier who the photo belonged to was fruitless. Nevertheless, he keeps the photo, and it proved to be his “Guardian angel” as he goes on to survive other deadly attacks where others died.
After returning to Colorado to live with his sister and her family, who had been looking after Zeus, his loyal and well trained German Shepherd, Logan found it difficult to settle down and fit in. In addition to suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he felt guilty for having survived Iraq when so many other Marines had died. He decided that he had to complete one last mission – find the lady in the picture that had brought him so much luck and thank her!
After using the lighthouse in the photo to locate what state and town the woman might be living in, he set off for Louisiana with Zeus. Arriving at the town, by asking the local residents and showing them the photo, he was able to identify who the woman in the photo was and where she lived.
The woman was Beth Green (Taylor Schilling), a pretty divorced mother who ran a dog shelter and training facility with her mother Ellie (Blythe Danner). Captivated and overwhelmed to finally meet his “Guardian angel” who had unknowingly brought him so much luck and kept him alive in Iraq, Logan was unable to find the words to explain why he was there. This led Beth to assume that he was there in answer to the job advert she and her mother had placed for an extra hand at the facility to help with the cleaning, training, and heavy lifting. Logan plays along and asks for the job. Discovering that Logan was a Marine, Beth feels a little uncomfortable with him and is reluctant to give him the job. However, her mum goes against her wishes and hires him.
Logan proves to be very useful and hardworking. His mysterious, military-disciplined, quiet, laidback demeanour is quite endearing. Not to mention his good looks (We all know how dreamy Zac Efron is 😊) Plus, Beth’s young son, Ben (Ryley Thomas Stewart) starts to grow fond of him. Soon, Beth couldn’t resist her growing attraction to him. She opens up about her brother, Drake, a Marine who had died in Iraq, how he had been a positive male influence in Ben’s life, and how she missed him very much. Logan realises that the photo had obviously belonged to her brother. When Beth asked Logan if he had known her brother, he told her he hadn’t and felt more uncomfortable about showing her the photo and revealing what had truly brought him there. He wasn't ready to divulge his secret.
Unsurprisingly (and as we all hoped), the two begin a sweet and romantic relationship. However, there are complications. Keith Clayton (Jay R. Fergusen) - Beth’s ex-husband and Ben’s father, is an insufferable, controlling man, made more egotistical being the deputy sheriff and son of the town's Judge. He’s possessive of Beth and controls her by perpetually threatening to get sole custody of Ben. The biggest problem is that he doesn’t like Logan and is very suspicious of him…
I won't reveal anymore and would encourage you to watch it so you can find out how it pans out. It's such a feel-good film and one that you wouldn't mind watching over and over again. I have seen it four times!
A deeply romantic film made more so by the beautifully sweet collection of songs that make up the soundtrack. American musician, Mark Isham’s musical sheet for the main soundtrack is just magnificent. I have included it at the top of this write-up, so be sure to listen to it. This is one of those films that you can’t help but use the word ‘beautiful’ to describe everything about it. Beautiful story, beautiful plot, and beautiful characters. Blythe Danner’s warm humour as Ellie was a rich addition and Zac Efron couldn’t have made Logan any sexier. It was most certainly a beautiful film and a definite must watch. Rating? 8.5 out of 10.
Currently available to watch on Netflix if anyone is interested.
Just So You Know……
Zac Efron – Played:
*Troy Bolton in the 2006 – 2008 American High School musical trilogy, High School Musical (1, 2 & 3)
* Link Larkin in the 2007 musical-comedy Hairspray
* 17 year old Mike O’Donnell in the 2009 American Comedy 17 Again.
* Matt Brody in 2017’s American comedy Baywatch
Taylor Schilling played Piper Chapman on the 2013 - 2019 Netflix original comedy-drama series, Orange is the New Black.
Blythe Danner (Actress, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Mother) played Dina Byrnes in the American comedy trilogy Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010)
Jay R. Fergusen played Stan Rizzo in the 2010 – 2015 American period- drama TV series Mad Men)
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