A good movie with a good message.

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2003)

This review contains spoilers. I am commenting on the content of the movie: how the movie handles cancer and the commentaries on the DVD. I am sorry, but my experience with cancer might be able to shed a little light on the contents of the movie. If this spoils your viewing pleasure I apologize in advance.
This is a review of A Walk to Remember. First let me express my sympathy to Mr. Sparks His sister must have been a beautiful woman to inspire such a wonderful book and movie.
I was only familiar with two of the actresses in the movie: Daryl Hannah and Mandy Moore. Their transformations in the movie were amazing. I am used to seeing both actresses blonde, especially Mandy Moore. I always imagined her looking like Brittney Spears, I was pleasantly surprised.
Ms. Moore?s mannerisms helped bring Jamie to life.: looking down at her feel, stooped shoulders, quiet voice, the lisp when she spoke, all added life to Jamie. I could almost see a bit of her in people from my high school.
The topic of cancer was well handled by the movie.
Many people with cancer want to keep their illness a secret from everyone. They do not want to be defined by the cancer, they want to live as well as they can for as long as they can. They want to be known by their names not their disease. So the characters keeping their illness hidden is very commen.
Also, people who are dying tend to retreat from the world, and the movie got this right. For someone who is dying a chance at romance could be very scary; this represents a very strong connection to this world that many terminally ill people could not face.
The father's reaction to the cancer is common in one respect and uncommon in another. First his desire to protect is common among caregivers, especially if the terminally ill is a relative. But his actions, after the relapse, is unusual. Many caregivers justify their actions by saying ?they are keeping he/she alive?; the idea that they could be overprotective does not occur to most. It takes a lot of courage to think ?maybe I have been overprotective?. The character shows even more courage by saying it.

I have noticed something else about terminal illness; next to each sorrow there is grace that can affect many people. In the movie the cancer is a catalyst for many positive changes, and this can also be true in real life.
How do I know all this? In 1999 my father died of cancer after a year of struggle. The year of 2002 saw more: in March one of my aunts died of cancer, in September by Grandfather died of old age and I was down-sized, in October Benjamin died. He went to school one day, had an afternoon nap, and never woke-up. He was six. And in late October, a friend of mine was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
I have two complains about the movie. First the pace of the movie is too fast. There does not seem to be enough time to develop the characters, hence the changes in the characters seem a little rushed.
Secondly, the commentaries on the DVD surprised me. The one with the screen writer and the author was very interesting and informative. It was also added something to the story and was respect full of the story. I learned a bit about what the screen writer did to make the story and I learned a bit about how the author wrote the book. Again, let me express my sympathies for your loss Mr. Sparks, I have been through something similar and it hurts.
The commentary by Mandy Moore, Shane West and the director took something away from the story and was not respectful of the story. It was very cynical and it hurt ... I know that if I was on the outside of the story, if I was an attractive and popular star, I would make cynical jokes about the girl with the funny skirt or the big car or other stuff. Maybe the reason the commentary hurt was because cancer and the loss described in the movie is still close to me. Maybe is was because it was nice to see a romantic lead that worried about being good not just looking good; that an outsider could be accepted, I do not know. It just did not seem to fit with the story.
I recommend the movie because it is well done, but if someone has lost someone to cancer, or has been treated like an outsider, be careful of the commentary by the stars and the director, it can sting.