The well- known love story, A Walk to Remember, is a captivating, heartwarming movie, unlike Sparks' other movies.

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2012)

The well- known love story, A Walk to Remember, is a captivating, heartwarming movie, unlike Sparks' other movies. It is personally one of my favorite movies because of the eye-opening story of a couple that unexpectedly falls in love. It has a unique way of not only telling a beautiful love story about how love endures through anything, but also leaving an underlying message to the audience about life, hope, and one's long journey ahead other than love.
In A Walk to Remember, a student named Landon Carter is a below average high school student that is going down the wrong path. He is hanging out with the wrong crowd, and participating in events he shouldn't be. The director makes it clear from the beginning that Landon is ultimately displeased with the life he is living, and chooses to take his depression out on other people. After making a wrong decision, Landon is held responsible for committing a crime and is forced to do community service in return, including being a part of the school play. The "old-school", conservative, preacher's daughter, Jamie Sullivan, voluntarily participates in the same events Landon does. There is a turning point in the movie when Landon decides to start taking his studies and other activities seriously, so he confides in Jamie for help. Landon starts out making fun of Jamie as usual, and under her request promises her that he will not ever fall in love with her. However, as they begin to spend more time together, Jamie and Landon unexpectedly fall in love with each other. Their love is put to the test when Jamie reveals to Landon that she has cancer. Through the fear and eventual loss of Jamie, Landon is forced to find out if their love can really endure through anything.
While Nicholas Sparks is well known for his love stories, I think this is his greatest and most inspirational. While all his movies leave the audience longing for a love like the characters have, A Walk to Remember provides a unique story about something so devastating that has a true impact on such a young couple. For instance, in The Notebook, the characters must conquer their love even though they are separated by distance, however in A Walk to Remember, the audience is able to be more captivated by a young love separated by crippling, life changing effects of a disease called cancer. While the woman in The Notebook does have Alzheimer disease, in A Walk to Remember the audience is able to be more drawn to a love that is forced to conquer with one character left alone due to the other dying from her disease, as compared to in The Notebook where the characters die together, ending their struggle. Because it is expected that one will most likely get sick at an old age, A Walk to Remember arouses one's emotions at a deeper level due to the fact that it is less expected for her to get a disease at such a young age. The couple in The Notebook has had the opportunity to realize their hopes and dreams of a long life lived together, however in A Walk to Remember their journey together is suddenly shortened by her disease. The movie can also be given more credit to its actors actually participating in causing effects to the audience. For instance, Mandy Moore is the star of the movie (Jamie), and her own songs are sung in the movie. By actually showing scenes in which Mandy (Jamie) is singing her music, the audience gains interest. Also, the music that is played all foreshadows the events that are going to happen. For example, in the play when Jamie is singing the song "Only Hope", the audience can expect that Jamie and Landon are going to fall in love in that moment. During this moment the camera spins around Jamie's head, showing Landon's confusion of his unexpected feelings for Jamie as he's lost in the song. As he kisses her unexpectedly, the curtain closes, leaving only the portrait of their faces in black with the red curtain in the background. Here, the director emphasizes their sudden love in that moment, making the viewer anticipate what is to come. The director brilliantly foreshadows events that end up being significant to the story. When Jamie first interacts with Landon, she befriends someone she doesn't like, which is number forty two on her list of things to do before she dies. As the movie moves along, we find out that little does Jamie know that Landon is helping her accomplish her list. Also, when Landon first studies with Jamie, he tells her he cant just be her friend, meaning that he doesn't want anyone to know that he would talk to her. The movie then provides an enchanting turn of events when as Landon chases Jamie, he pleads with her that he doesn't just want to be her friend, but wants to be in a relationship with her. As seen, A Walk to Remember displays the common love story where through anything and everything, a love like Landon and Jamie's is able to endure. By displaying the story in a way that everyone can relate to, the director is able to reveal an underlying message through Landon's drastic change in life. The director shows that in life, anything can change in an instant, and it is the people that are willing to keep an open mind that will find their true purpose in life in the end. For Jamie, this was changing Landon's life, and for Landon it ended up being carrying out Jamie's legacy. Through Landon's story, the director shows that anyone can turn their life around in a second and it may just be one person with one gesture that can make that biggest impact on someone's life.