Left alone with two young children, Lexi and Josh, Alex is as much as part of the fabric of Southport as the sea itself. But Katie, frightened and harboring some sort of secret, is none to interested in getting acquainted with anyone, let alone Alex.Īlex himself is a widower. With one stop shopping at the only local “market”, it doesn’t take long for Katie to meet Alex, who is immediately smitten with the petite angelic woman. Arriving in the sleepy beach community of Southport, North Carolina, she is struck by the calmness and serenity and decides to not get back on the bus. After a daring departure from parts unknown, she boards a bus bound for the Southern United States. No stranger to a Sparks adaptation, having directed Dear John some years ago, Hallstrom deftly weaves his magic with a script by Dana Stevens and Nicholas Sparks, all of which comes together with stunning imagery compliments of cinematographer Terry Stacey, charming chemistry between Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, and scene stealing little sweetheart, Mimi Kirkland.Ī woman on the run, Katie is lost, alone and afraid. Leave it to Nicholas Sparks to capture the heart and boost the stock of Kleenex, while director Lasse Hallstrom pulls you to the edge of your seat blending mystery with pure emotion and sweet romance. And although an adaptation from the Nicholas Sparks best-seller of the same name, SAFE HAVEN stands on its own legs as a true adaption for the screen, altering the plot point time line, creating a taut psychological thriller of an opening that sets the film in motion, and then stealing your heart with sparks flying in one of the sweetest film romances to bloom on screen since, well, “The Notebook.” When it comes to SAFE HAVEN, I can safely say without hesitation, The Best Romance Since The Notebook.

Safe haven sparks