Dear John, Can I have my time back? Sincerely, Ben by Ben Hayle, NMTV Dear John is the latest film adaptation of a novel by best selling author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe). Dear John a romantic drama is primarily set in North Carolina. John Tyree played by Channing Tatum(G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA, Public Enemies) is a soldier who is home on leave for a few weeks when he meets Savannah Curtis played by Amanda Seyfried(Mama Mia, Jennifer’s Body). Dear John is the story of their love and how they answer the question, “What does it really mean to love each other”?
John and Savannah spend a few short weeks together, he teaches her how to surf and she tries to peel back the layers of John’s past. Just before John is about to leave his violent past rears its ugly head and his relationship with Savannah is thrown into turmoil. However, they realize that they still love each other and before he leaves they profess there love and promise to write each other constantly. From there the movie moves to a montage of letter writing and letter reading which is only interrupted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The attack takes place only a few short weeks before John’s tour of duty was to be complete and at the urging of his fellow soldiers he decides to sign on for an additional tour, a decision that Savannah can not understand. There relationship continues to dissolve until John reads his final letter from Savannah. As the film winds its way through its final act John and Savannah try and save their relationship even if it means that they are no longer to be together. From the overview of the plot you just read this might sound like a decent romantic drama and you would be right. However, the film is marred by acting performances that are hard to watch. Several characters have long monologues that did not resonate the tears and emotion in these long speeches seems forced. I found many of the performances to be overacted or just simply poorly acted. Tatum has his moments but Seyfriend is a wreck right from the get go. The performance of Richard Jenkins(The Visitor, Burn After Reading) as Tyree’s father was a highlight of the film. The sub-plot between Tyree and his dad was the best part of the picture for me. Jenkins plays an autistic 60 year old who is struggling to keep a relationship with his son; their scenes together are the finest in the film. The film also decided that reality did not matter. In the hours and days after 9/11 Tyree is allowed to take a 48 hour leave from his station somewhere in Europe and return to North Carolina to see Savannah. Now on its own it is unbelievable that the Army would have let there Special Forces soldiers go on leave as we were preparing to go to war. What is even more unbelievable is that when Tyree returns to North Carolina he walks into a crowded airport with passengers going to and fro…there were no flights going anywhere in the days after 9/11. To me that was a ridiculous oversight by the director, Lasse Hallström. While I found no love for Dear John several people in the theatre with me did. Most of them were women and they seemed to love the film. I can enjoy a romantic drama that is done well, take The Notebook for example that is a good film and it was done well. Dear John is not a good film and it was not done well, I give it 1 star out of 5.