Best film ever, far more than just a chick-flick

Rating: 10/10 (13 May 2003)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** It is interesting how the voting is so polarized on this movie. Well over 40% of viewers rated it '10', and yet the overall rating is under 7! Obviously, a lot of people either did not understand what this movie was truly about, or if they did get it, they did not care for it.
Those who call this film "a chick-flick with a harsh ending" are clearly among those who understood none of the depth of this movie. The centerpiece of this movie is a young women named Jamie who hold on to faith and virtue, and spends much of her life helping others, despite a tragic illness that will soon take her life, and despite disdain from her high school classmates.
The love story takes form as Jamie selflessly helps a young man, Brandon, who previously expressed his disdain for her, and who was ashamed to be seen with her by his "in-crowd". After helping him for several weeks, he makes a sharp put-down of her in front of his friends, so she closes the door in his face when he comes back for help. What neither Jamie nor Brandon realized, but that Brandon's friend points out, is that "She's already changed you, and you don't even know it!"
Normally, Jamie dresses plainly with a simple hair style and no makeup. But during the lead in a play, she wears a beautiful gown, makeup, and hair style, and everyone, including Brandon, is amazed at the transformation. Enchanted by her superb voice, Brandon, the male lead in the play, realizes Jamie is just as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside, and is smitten with her.
Afterwards, Brandon explains to Jamie that he wants to spend time with her to get to know her better, and that he really misses her. Jamie does not believe him and tells him to "prove it". He gets his chance when his "in-crowd" buddies pull an incredibly humiliating trick that brings Jamie's virtue into question. Brandon defends her against his buddies, and becomes ejected from the in-crowd.
After comforting Jamie after the horrible trick, Brandon asks to go out with Jamie, and is told that she is not allowed to date. Perhaps the key scene is where Brandon asks Jamie's father, the local minister, for permission to go out with her, which is flatly refused based on her father's negative assessment of Brandon's character. Brandon appeals, admitting that he has not treated her as he should have, but wants a chance to make it up to her. He asks her father to have FAITH in him, just as her father asks them to have faith in God. Her father agrees to give him a chance.
Brandon and Jamie spend a lot of time together, and good as his word, Brandon treats Jamie with respect, trying to do all he can to please her, and never trying to compromise her virtue. Jamie admits to her father than she loves him. Her father tells her that if she loves Brandon, then to be fair to him. The next time they get together, Jamie tells Brandon that she has an incurable disease, and referring to a prior conversation about her faith, she shouts, "I don't need a reason to hate God!"
Afterwards, Brandon drives around for a while thinking about his feelings and what to do. While 99% of young men would distance themselves from someone that would die so soon, he concludes that he will stick with Jamie no matter what. Based on the music playing while he is driving around, I believe Brandon came to faith that night, but there is nothing explicitly stated in the movie.
Brandon is truly changed. He makes a commitment to Jamie that he will be there no matter what. His mother finds a list of ambitions he had written. When Jamie goes to the hospital, he is there every spare minute. When she goes home, Brandon makes a large telescope so that Jamie can see a comet that she had been hoping to see. He then asks her to marry him. They spend a summer together, and she dies.
Brandon's friends are also changed. They reconcile with him, and ask forgiveness for playing such a mean trick on Jamie. They help him with the telescope. They are there for his wedding. Perhaps for the first time in their lives, they are moved to be unselfish and caring.
At the end of the movie, Brandon has finished college and has been admitted to medical school. He comments that he had been going nowhere, and Jamie saved his life. And that she still inspires him. Referencing an earlier comment Jamie had made about the Spirit of God, Brandon talks about how he still feels Jamie's love: it's like the wind; I can't see it, but I can feel it and I know it is there.
In summary, the love story is beautiful, but what is even more beautiful is to see how a single person with faith and virtue can impact so many of those around her. And how such a person can truly inspire others to change.