A picture to remember...

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2006)

The first time I saw "A Walk to Remember" I was blown away, but this second viewing helped me analyze each element of the film separately. I'm not talking about a deep analysis, but about an analysis this movie deserves, because it appears as a romantic teen drama, but it is truly a great film; and it deserves a great film's analysis.
The story of "A walk to remember" is about a popular high school boy (Landon) who hangs out with a popular group and a self-exiled high school girl (Jamie) who hangs out with the telescope and stars, the bible (her father is a reverend played by Peter Coyote) and religion and the retarded students she tutors for fun. They are portrayed by Shane West and Mandy Moore, and the plot line says they are "thrown together" so make a guess. Sounds familiar? Well, it's not: it's different; just about every other thing in the movie.
When Landon screws up and gets to be in the high school play, he ends up asking Jamie help with the lines. "Alright", she says. "But with one condition: promise me you won't fall in love with me". "That won't be a problem", Landon replies. What happens after Jamie's warning is nothing else than a story of true love courtesy of Nicholas Sparks; author of the book the movie is based on and author of another true love story: "The Notebook".
It was the job of Karen Janzsen to turn that love into a screenplay, and she did her work very well, considering the little number of screenplays she had written before. It is Janzsen's screenplay (with the main help of Sparks' novel) what makes this movie so different; because the reactions of the characters in the crucial moments, which should be predictable, are not. The simple words we are expecting them to say are changed by other words as simple that become surprising.
This fact is supported by the labor of the castA labor of wondrousness. Shane West, a now grown up actor I admire very much and who has divided his career between the series "Once and Again", the bad guy in "Get Over It" and a better act than Sean Connery in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"; achieves here what's still the best performance of his life. His sarcastic commentaries, his anger and his happiness are flawless.
Mandy Moore's performance is just remarkable, and mostly inspiring considering her situation (her first and in my opinion her best lead role of her career). She transmits sweetness and tenderness in her voice that when she sings it doesn't even seem out of place. Al Thompson's and Clayne Crawford's parts as Landon's best friend are very solid and more credible than most of their "characters" in other films.
But what I hadn't appreciated was Peter Coyote's portrayal. His character seemed so typical and obvious the first time I saw the film that I didn't pay attention to him. This time, I carefully watched his manners. His lines are so carefully spoken, so well appreciated; and his looksHis looks are so honest that you care about his worries.
Adam Shankman, a choreographer and probably not the best option for directing the film; astounds with his measured view of the strong events the story tells and leaves behind the regular "The Wedding Planner". In one scene, during the high school play, his camera slowly observes each of the main characters in the audience to contrast what's happening onstageDaryl Hannah is there, and even David Lee Smith's short appearance becomes noticeable.
Their expressions say a lot for a romantic teen drama; but much less for a great film.