Safe Haven (film)

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Safe Haven
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lasse Hallström
Screenplay by	Gage Lansky Dana Stevens
Based on	Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Produced by	Marty Bowen Chad Freet Wyck Godfrey Ryan Kavanaugh
Starring	Josh Duhamel Julianne Hough Cobie Smulders David Lyons
Cinematography	Terry Stacey
Edited by	Andrew Mondshein
Music by	Deborah Lurie[1]
Production companies	Relativity Media Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributed by	Relativity Media
Release date	February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
Running time	115 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$28 million[3]
Box office	$97.6 million[3]

Safe Haven is a 2013 American romantic drama fantasy thriller film starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders. The film marks the final film role for actor Red West. It was released theatrically in North America on February 14, 2013. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, and is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' 2010 novel of the same name. The film was originally set for a February 8 release.^[4]

Plot[]

Erin, terrified, flees her house in Boston, having been in the possession of a bloody knife. After taking shelter with a neighbor, she goes to the bus station to flee town. Her hair is now cut short and bleached and she stops in the small town of Southport, North Carolina.

She introduces herself as Katie at the general store. After getting a job as a waitress, and renting a small house on the edge of town, she befriends her neighbor, Jo. She meets Alex Wheatley who operates the local general store, a widowed father of two young children, Josh, who has a strained relationship with him, and Lexie. Alex soon gives Katie a bicycle so she will not have to walk long distances across town. Initially she over-reacts negatively to the kind gesture, not wishing to "owe anything to anyone".

It is not long before Katie and Alex start a relationship, and she becomes a mother figure to Josh and Lexie. Meanwhile, Kevin Tierney, a Boston police detective, prepares wanted posters for a woman named "Erin" which describes that she is wanted for first-degree murder. Alex sees the wanted poster in the police station, noticing the picture bears a striking resemblance to Katie. He confronts her, causing a huge fight - she attempts to explain that she was young and stupid and married a man who only hurt her - but they break up, and Katie moves out.

As Katie is about to leave town Alex intercepts her, saying he has fallen in love with her, begging her not to leave and promising to keep her safe. Katie reluctantly returns his love, and decides to stay in Southport (though still apprehensive of bringing danger upon Alex's family). She tells him that she fled there to escape her abusive and alcoholic cop husband. They got in a big fight and that she stabbed him in self-defense before she fled south in a panic, in hopes of finally escaping him and his abuse.

Meanwhile, Kevin is suspended for creating the false wanted posters - for crimes that were not committed - and for drinking on the job. In the ensuing argument with his boss it is revealed that he is Katie's (Erin's) husband, still very much alive and well. A flashback then reveals that on the night Katie ran away, she had stabbed Kevin in the side with the knife when he attacked her in a drunken rage. Enraged, he breaks into Katie's former neighbor's home in Boston and gets the phone number to the restaurant where Katie works. Arriving in time for the town's Fourth of July parade, a severely intoxicated Kevin sees Katie kissing Alex, which enrages him. That evening, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that "he" is here. Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a sleeping Lexie when Kevin suddenly appears, confronts her, demanding that she go back with him. She refuses and tells him to leave. Kevin pulls a gun and pours gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down.

Katie buys time by faking sympathy for him and agreeing to return home with him. When he lets his guard down, she pushes him into the water. A firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that engulfs the store. Alex sees the burning store, quickly crosses the harbor by boat, and saves Lexie. Meanwhile, as Katie tries to fight off Kevin, the gun goes off and kills Kevin.

After the fire, Alex recovers several letters written by his late wife Carly before she died. They were prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Josh's eighteenth birthday and Lexie's wedding day. He also reconciles with Josh.

Jo later tells Katie that she will be leaving Southport soon. Katie thanks her for being a good friend and Jo tells her, "You deserve this, Katie. You belong here."

Alex gives Katie a letter with the words "To Her" on the envelope. It explains that Alex must be in love to have given her the letter and she hopes that she feels the same, wishing that she could be there with them. Enclosed with the letter is a photo of Alex's late wife. Katie realizes that her neighbor "Jo" was the ghost of Carly watching over them.

Cast[]

Production[]

According to a 2012 Twitch Film article, Keira Knightley had entered into "early talks" to play Katie,^[5] but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the 2013 film Begin Again.^[6]

The film began principal photography on June 18, 2012 in Wilmington and Southport, North Carolina.^[7] Parts of it were filmed in Louisiana and the opening scene with Katie on the Coach America bus is on the Linn Cove Viaduct along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain in Linville, North Carolina.

Reception[]

Box office[]

Safe Haven grossed US$71,349,120 in North America and US$26,245,020 in other territories for a worldwide total of US$97,594,140.^[3]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed US$21,401,594, finishing third at the box office behind A Good Day to Die Hard (US$24,834,845) and Identity Thief (US$23,674,295).^[3]

Critical response[]

Critical reaction for Safe Haven was largely negative.^{[8][9][10][11]} On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 13%, based on reviews from 146 critics, with an average rating of 4.00/10. The consensus reads, "Schmaltzy, predictable, and melodramatic, Safe Haven also suffers from a ludicrous plot twist, making for a particularly ignominious Nicholas Sparks adaptation."^[12] On Metacritic the film has a score of 34 out of 100, a "generally unfavorable" score, based on 33 reviews.^[13] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+.^[14]

Richard Roeper called the film "Bat. Bleep. Crazy." and asks if the filmmakers or a key character is out of her mind. Roeper expresses disbelief at the twist ending, and "how insane the whole thing is". Aside from the twist ending he would have given the film 2.5 stars, but ultimately gives it only 1.5 out of four stars.^[15] Peter Bradshaw, writing for The Guardian, called Safe Haven's setting "a sugary vision of small-town America that does not correspond with the real world at any point."^[16] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film zero stars out of four, and concluded his review by stating: "I hate Safe Haven. It's a terrible thing to do to your Valentine."^[17]

Accolades[]

Despite the film's negative reception, it was nominated for a Teen Choice Awards in the category Choice Movie: Romance.^[18] Mimi Kirkland received a Young Artist Award nomination in the category "Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film".^[19]

Home media[]

Safe Haven was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 7, 2013.

References[]

External links[]

• Safe Haven at IMDb
• Safe Haven at the TCM Movie Database
• Safe Haven at AllMovie
• Safe Haven at Box Office Mojo
• Safe Haven at Rotten Tomatoes