Movies in Review: Safe Haven

This review contains spoilers

When watching the preview for Safe Haven, it reminded me of the premise of Sleeping with the Enemy (1991). However, While Safe Haven is in the same class, it can also hold its own. I would definitely recommend this movie, especially if you like romantic thrillers. It starts off with Julianne Hough's character dramatically running away, an escape. She utilizes a neighbors help, entering as a brunette and leaving as a blonde. This evades police in their attempts to apprehend her. From what is perceived at this point, her hands were sodden wit h blood.

Her escape was provided by means of a bus, where she comes across a sleepy town that is just the pace she's looking for. She decides to stay after the owner of the country store caught her eye and she was charmed by his small daughter. She seeks employment with a local restaurant and starts to set-up her new home, in the middle of the woods. Here, she meets a seemingly snooping new neighbor "Jo". They might have started on the wrong foot, but they become friends and Jo gives her a different perspective that she needs to learn trust again.

Josh Duhamel (Transformers) plays Alex, the gentlemen that the leading protagonist lady needs in her life. Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars), we're introduced to as "Katie" and forms an instant bond with Alex's daughter. Hesitantly, she begins a friendship with Alex and his family and soon develops into more between the two, Alex mad Katie. This, being the First Lady that Alex has had feelings for since his wife had passed a few years prior.

Meanwhile, the detective that was intensely searching for Katie I'm the beginning of the movie, continues his search vigorously. The questions that kept going through my head at this point were

: How were the police so quickly notified that they were in hot pursuit of Katie? Why is this detective so intense about this case, while seemingly not caring about any other cases? It was evident to me that he was involved with Katie on some spectrum. When he coordinated a wide net in the hopes of catching her, he sent out wanted posters to possible districts. The notice was put up on the police stations board and semi covered up at the same time. In his frustrations toward his failure to find her, he begins to drink alcohol relentlessly. Ultimately, his poor choices and alcoholic tendencies leads to his suspension from the force. This adds fuel to an already furious fire, and he now sets out to find her.

Katie has dreams and memories that she struggles with, through this we learn the truth of what happened and why the detective is searching so intensely for her. When the detective arrives in the town where she has started her new life, the thin thread that was holding his semi-civility together unravels. There is a twist at the end too!

Safe Haven is so nice I watched it twice (excuse my dorkness). It is definitely included in my favorites list. Until next time or the next... dream ~ K.E.Nowinsky