I have seen every Nicholas Sparks movie. I have yet to read any of his books, but I have never missed any of his films. In fact I have every film ever made that was based on one of his books, from Message in a Bottle to his most current film, Safe Haven. One day I hope to have the time to read one of his books and see how closely they match the movies based on the books.
I have yet to watch a Nicholas Sparks film that DIDN’T make me cry. I have cried watching every film. A Walk to Remember and The Notebook make me cry the most. I have seen both films numerous times but that doesn’t seem to matter. I still cry.
I finally had the opportunity to see Safe Haven, which is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download. I THOUGHT this might be the one Nicholas Sparks film that didn’t make me cry. In fact I made it all the way up to the last minute or two before balling my eyes out. 🙂
Safe Haven stars Julianne Hough as Katie and Josh Duhamel as Alex.
One day Katie shows up in the small sea side community of Southport, North Carolina. She arrived in town on a bus and decided to stay.
Katie is harboring a secret that she doesn’t want anyone to know about. In fact Katie does her best to try and keep away from the people who live Southport, a place where everyone knows everyone. Katie doesn’t want anyone to know about her. She also does her best not to get involved with any of the town’s residents.
The wall that Katie has built up around her starts to get chipped away at little by little when she is befriended by a woman name Jo and the local grocery store owner Alex and his two children, Lexie and Josh.
Alex lost his wife many years earlier to cancer. All he really has left of her are some letters that she wrote to her family before she died. Each letter has a specific date written on it such as Lexie’s wedding day and Josh’s graduation day.
Slowly and cautiously Katie and Alex develop a friendship which soon moves on to romance. That is until Katie’s secret catches up to her.
What is Katie hiding from Alex? Will it destroy their delicate relationship, or can the power of love provide Katie with a safe haven? To find out you need to pick up a copy of Safe Haven where ever movies are sold.
Here is the film’s official trailer.
This is a beautiful film. In the beginning I wasn’t too happy about how cold the character of Katie was, especially towards Alex. Once her secret was revealed it made sense why she didn’t want to get close to anyone.
Julianna Hough and Josh Duhamel have a great chemistry together. And the child actors who played Lexie and Josh did a fantastic job.
I thought I was going to make it through the entire movie without shedding a tear, that is until the very end. I NEVER saw that ending coming. I was totally blindsided by it. There is even an alternate ending in the bonus features, but it’s not much different than the ending that was used in the film (It just has a bit more visuals).
Even Nicholas Sparks film I’ve ever seen makes me want to pack my bags and move to North Carolina’s coast. Unlike his other films this film was filmed entirely on location. There really is a Southport, North Carolina.
There are some really nice bonus features included on the Blu-ray. Aside from the usual deleted and extended scenes you’ll also find an alternate ending (as mentioned above) as well as a featurette called Igniting the Romance in Safe Haven with provides viewers with some insight into what it took to bring this movie to life and the cast and crews thought about the film and location.
There is also a set tour which shows you all of the real life locations that were used in the making of this film.
For a little humor the film makers also included a bonus feature where Josh Duhamel learns how to crab. I used to crab when I was a young girl. It’s fun, although I never did catch a crab.
The film is rated PG-13. There is no nudity but there are mild sexual situations. There is also some violence.
If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks films, or love a great romance, then you need to pick up a copy of Safe Haven where ever movies are sold.
If you want to learn more about this and other Nicholas Sparks films you can check out his official website, www.NicholasSparks.com. The film also has it’s own Facebook page.
Did you see Safe Haven? What did you think of the movie? Feel free to leave a comment.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way.
kate says
i’ve watched every nick sparks movie from the notebook. always makes me cry
Tammy S says
I love the Nicholas Sparks books. I haven’t seen this movie yet, my daughter really wants to see it. Thanks for the review.
In the Hammock says
this looks so good, i haven’t seen it yet!
Kate F. says
I haven’t seen this yet. Maybe I’ll rent it. Thanks for the review!
Olivia Rubin says
This was my favorite movie out of all his. I read the book as well, but really enjoyed seeing the movie. Julianne did a great job in her role.
Karen Glatt says
This is such a good movie with great acting. If anyone liked the Notebook then they will like this movie! I would like to see it again!
Denise Taylor-Dennis says
I wanted to see this when it was out at the movies but I missed it. I am going to have to buy this so I can watch it as it looks like a great movie.
Elena says
I haven’t seen this movie yet
LAMusing says
I’ve enjoyed the books by Nicholas Sparks – I’d like to see this film.
Rebecca Xavier says
This movie sounds so good. I love how this is more suspenseful than the other films.