A story of summer love and heartbreak

Rating: 4/10 (30 September 2014)

A fitting quote that speaks volumes of The Last Song, "The pieces all fit together, yet everything was falling apart", expresses the opinions of the watchers of the movie. The Last Song, another installation in the line of Nicholas Sparks' novels-turned-movies, centers on a teenage girl, her summer romance, and her relationship with her father. The movie features big names in acting, like Greg Kinnear and Kelly Preston, while spotlighting new faces in acting, for example Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus. Although Cyrus is not a new celebrity name, The Last Song is her first silver screen acting role. Cyrus is a big name among tween girls for her role as Hannah Montana, and her singing career is starting to take off. However, acting in semi-serious roles or in movies at all might not be in her future. While Miley Cyrus does have a popular fan base to support her endeavors, The Last Song proves that Cyrus does not have the chops to be a great or even good actress, as expressed through her demeanor on screen, as well as through the reviews on her acting.
To illustrate the sub-par acting of Cyrus, the audience should pay close attention to how she acts. Even though the character of Ronnie was already a teen with a bad attitude, Cyrus adds the element of bad acting. In a review for the New York Times, writer A.O. Scott claims that Cyrus "Most of the time she seems to be play-acting rather than exploring the motives and feelings of her character." Scott is absolutely true. Cyrus mopes around on screen, not really having much emotion or, when she does, it is sometimes exaggerated. For example, when Cyrus and Hemsworth guard the turtle eggs overnight, she does not really delve deeply into the emotions of her character, but rather just seems to be reading the lines. Claudia Puig, a reporter for USA Today, reports that Cyrus "sulks and sneers her way through her first dramatic role", and that she has "shaky dramatic bets." To counter the harsh reviews, Roger Ebert, a renowned movie critic, believes that Cyrus "seems sincere" and "Her acting is unaffected, she can play serious." Cyrus may have some parts of the movie where she is serious, like when she and Kinnear finish the song and Kinnear's funeral, but most of the time she is not attached to her character. For most of The Last Song, Cyrus demonstrates how unexperienced her acting truly is. An example would be when she and Hemsworth have a fight around the middle of the movie. Cyrus explains to Hemsworth why she is mad at him, but Cyrus seems to not actually mean what she is saying; like she is just saying it to say it. Another scene in the movie that displays her less-than- stellar acting is another scene with Hemsworth. Again, she seems to be saying the lines, but not meaning them or having an ounce of conviction when the lines are spoken. Whenever Cyrus and Hemsworth have a scene together, which is almost every scene in the movie, Cyrus never gives the impression that she feels a romantic connection between her character and Hemsworth's character. The lack of chemistry could be a result from Cyrus's unemotional acting.