Dear John

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2011)

From director Lasse Hallström (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules) and writer Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook), this looked and sounded like it was going to be a very worthwhile tragic or whatever romance story, so I had to see it. Basically John Tyree (Step Up's Channing Tatum) is on two weeks leave from Germany as a Special Forces Army Sergeant, and he has returned to his hometown and father Mr. Tyree (Richard Jenkins). After saving her purse from the ocean water, he meets University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill college student Savannah Curtis (Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried), who is on spring break, and they start a very quick friendship. After just helping out rebuilding the house that collapsed, John and Savannah did not expect to fall in love, but of course they have to part ways when he goes back to the army and she returns to college. But they both make a promise to write letters and keep in touch during the twelve months, and for many months this does work out and they tell each other everything, but John makes the hasty decision to stay behind after events of 9/11. There is a point however when Savannah stops writing, and John is very concerned, and eventually she does write and reveals, to his devastation, that she has been seeing and is now married to cancer suffering Tim Wheddon (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's Henry Thomas). After avoiding it for almost two years, John does eventually go home and obviously has to face Savannah about what has happened since they last wrote to each other, and Tim himself knows that she still loves him. But after the death his father, John decides to let Savannah go, he anonymously donates the money needed to help Tim, he sells his father's beloved coin collection, apart from his one favourite coin, and he and Savannah remain good friends. Also starring Scott Porter as Randy, D.J. Cotrona as Noodles, David Andrews as Mr. Curtis, Keith Robinson as Captain Stone and Cullen Moss as Dan 'Rooster' Rooney. Tatum and Seyfried give both loving and tragic performances, and as a couple they are pretty perfect, despite its cheesy moments and slightly predictable material, it is quite an emotional story that can affect both the women and the men, a most watchable romantic drama. Very good!