SAFE HAVEN

With Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders, David Lyons

Written by Gage Lansky & Dana Stevens (based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks)
Directed by Lasse Hallström

A young woman escapes her home with the cops on her trail, the viewer at first not given all the information as to her fleeing. The random bus she caught leads her to the small town of Southport, North Carolina. Here she changes her identity, gets a waitress job and rents a house in the woods. Trying to stay as private as possible, she can't help but to get involved with the amiable locals, from a woman living nearby to a store owner and his kids. He's single, having lost his wife to cancer. Naturally a romantic connection is soon established, but there are many issues, from the son's emotionally fragility over his mom's death, and the law is closing in.
A couple of surprises are built in that may delight and catch some unaware, while others will figure it out sooner rather than later.
Admittedly I wasn't in the mood for a Sleeping With The Enemy type movie, but it was watchable enough. No exactly a chick-flick, but I think a female audience will enjoy it more (not just for the type of story, but probably because of Duhamel's presence as the kind of good guy most women would dream of).

3 / C
- Paul Blom

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
- A - B - C

A: Multiple Viewing Potential
B: Deserves Another Look
C: Once Should Suffice