emotional but overall disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (5 October 2012)

This film has some very emotional scenes, but in between them there is not enough chemistry between the main characters. I like the idea of the story but casting in this film was a bit off. I definitely liked how they explored the character of john's father and the relationship he had with his son. It is brave of them to tackle the mental illness that the father has and show how it effects the father's life, personality and relationship with his son. Some bits made me cry and made me think about my own life but the start was poor and for periods the film seemed to meander along in a cold and unemotional way. This film is neither a great war film like Saving Private Ryan or a romance film like the notebook. It tries to cover war, romance, mental illness and drama. The only genre it truly seems to get right is mental illness. Overall this film has a great story to use and a lot of potential but it doesn't quite deliver in a number of genres that it tries to tackle.