Love Almost
Dear John starts perfect and keeps the momentum going through much of the film, until the promise of greatness is dulled by a flat ending.
This is a love story, a heartfelt and dramatic one, which demands a climax of the same caliber. That means one of two things. Big Happy or Big Sad. Instead, we get neither and feel cheated. I was preparing myself for Big Sad (tissues at the ready), since John Tyree (Channing Tatum) is a soldier in Special Forces whose life is always at risk. I would have settled for Big Happy, because Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, who plays Savannah Curtis, a college student when the film opens, are a charismatic duo on the screen. They meet and fall in love during her break from school and his from active duty, in scenes that are quiet and unhurried, yet filled with magic and emotion. They make us believe in love – its unexpected nature, the power it has to bring people together who seem at first blush to have little in common, the way it can change lives and make us feel that everything we did before was insignificant by comparison.
John and Savannah promise to write to one another as they part, sending a series of numbered letters back and forth to keep the flame alive. When 9/11 happpens, and John realizes he has to break his pledge to Savannah, and reenlist, they struggle to remain on course. Several months later he receives her final letter. The title of the film suggests the nature of its contents.
Dear John’s power, which had been deeply rooted in the chemistry of its actors, and our desire to see them overcome the difficulties of their separation, begins to wane at this point. There’s nothing wrong with breaking lovers apart, so long as the break has purpose and propels the film to a satisfying conclusion. But Dear John dashes this potential with news in Savannah’s letter that she’s been engaged to another. Not long thereafter, the narrative jumps forward six years, blunting the emotion further.
Still, there is much to admire about the film and its stars. Two members of the supporting cast deserve special mention. Richard Jenkins is fantastic as John’s father, a coin-collecting, possibly autistic man of few words who makes lasagna every Sunday night (meatloaf Saturday). Well-travelled as a supporting actor, Jenkins starred in The Visitor (2007), the #1 film on Jabcat’s Top 10 Movies 2008 (released 2007, Jabcat saw 2008).
Also noteworthy in support is Henry Thomas as Tim, a neighbor with an autistic child. Every time I see Thomas, E.T. jumps to mind. He’s had a solid career since he played Elliott in Spielberg’s classic film about a boy and his extra-terrestrial friend, but no matter how old the actor gets (late 30′s now) his fateful/funny words about the lost alien in his bedroom spring to mind whenever I see him. “I’m keeping him.”
Dear John might have been a keeper too. But unlike E.T. with its thrilling climax as E.T. returns home in a spaceship, Dear John lets the air out of its emotional balloon too early, sinking this film’s ship back to Earth.
Rating: 6¾ out of 10 (not recommended) on the Movie Fraction Rating System™
Dear John
Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Photo: Scott Garfield/Sony Screen Gems
