Dear John (2010)
I have to admit I had some optimism before watching "Dear John", because of two reasons - a talented director, Lasse Hallström, who has some good movies in his filmography, and an excellent main actress. Unfortunately, my optimism quickly disappeared when I started watching this film. I did not find the romance from "Dear John to" be credible at all, because it exploits its idealization on its most chimeric and melancholic ways. The establishment of the relationship between the two main characters is full of clichés, and it is not well written. I think the only element I liked in this film was Seyfried's honest performance. As for her co-star, Channing Tatum, he's undoubtly very handsome, but he was simply horrible as John. A lot of the scenes were uneven purely because of his performance, a lot of the emotion in various scenes is lost because he's so stiff and 'wooden'. This story deserved to be cast right, but what it got was a pretty boy who can't act. Tatum should stick to what he's good at - movies that are more about his physical ability! Techically, "Dear John" is not that bad. The cinematography was very good at segueing through love letters, focusing just enough on a key word or phrase in each letter. "Dear John" is a simultaneously tragic and apathetic romance, that is good-looking, but often boring. It has its moments, but, generally these moments are more obtained with technical means, not with artistic ones. Though, there is a Hallstrom feeling, especially in the beginning, when you have absolutely no idea where the script is going to take you. But when it's taking you there, you realize that it is a bit plain, somehow leaves you with a taste of a romance which you have seen a hundred times before.
- My Rating: 4.75/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 29% (4.4/10)
- IMDb: 5.5/10
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