A Walk to Remember (2002)

Directed by: Adam Shankman | 101 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, Lauren German, Clayne Crawford, Al Thompson, Paz de la Huerta, Jonathan Parks Jordan, Matt Lutz, David Andrews, David Lee Smith, Xavier Hernandez, Marisa Miller, Paula Jones

In the beginning of ‘A Walk to Remember’ several problems are central. The first is the behavior of Landon, the protagonist of the story. He is a stereotypical high school student. He belongs to the popular group, is cheeky and mainly goes his own way. He does nasty things to fit in, and he expects the same from others. It’s hard to get a grip on him. His opponent is Jamie. She is cut from a completely different cloth. Her strong character does not seem to match her way of functioning. Because although she is on the one hand very aware of herself, her ambitions, wishes and ideals, she belongs to the group of misfits. She is being bullied, is not as smooth and seems to have a feeling of inferiority. The entire film revolves around these two characters.

The story is on the one hand a romantic love story, on the other hand there is human drama. A beautiful combination. Shane West and Mandy Moore act excellently, and partly thanks to the input of some rock music, the story also gets enough momentum. However, the super-sweet sauce with which the film is poured makes you feel very patronized as a viewer. The religious content of the film ensures that a limited target group is addressed. Actually, that’s quite a pity. The moral of the film is heartwarming and every viewer can learn something from Jamie’s reflections and thoughts.

The movie starts strong. The school, with themes such as bullying, wanting to belong and the behavior of different typical school groups, are well developed. Here and there the film even feels hip, but halfway through the story gets bogged down in a somewhat dull drama. The school whales fade into the background, and the side paths of the story are no longer used at the end. As a result, the film lapses into monotony. It may even be that a heavy feeling overwhelms the viewer. At the end there is no more lightness anywhere. ‘A Walk to Remember’ also has a typical American character. Heroism is not shunned and here and there the film is also very moralizing. Fortunately, Shane West and Mandy Moore show their best side. The chemistry explodes off the screen and is very believable. Mandy’s playing is especially impressive, so it’s not for nothing that she received a number of awards for this role. The good acting, however, cannot lift the film above mediocrity.