The Lucky One (2012)

A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.

Director:

Scott Hicks

Writers:

Will Fetters (screenplay), Nicholas Sparks (novel)

Stars:

Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zac Efron	...	Logan
Taylor Schilling	...	Beth
Blythe Danner	...	Ellie
Riley Thomas Stewart	...	Ben
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Keith Clayton
Adam LeFevre	...	Judge Clayton
Robert Hayes	...	Victor (as Robert Terrell Hayes)
Joe Chrest	...	Deputy Moore
Russell Durham Comegys	...	Roger Lyle (as Russ Comegys)
Sharon Conley	...	Principal Miller (as Sharon Morris)
Ann McKenzie	...	Charlotte Clayton
Kendal Tuttle	...	Aces
Cameron Banfield	...	Younger Marine
Ritchie Montgomery	...	Cottage Owner
Courtney J. Clark	...	Logan's Sister

Storyline

Logan is a marine serving in Iraq. While there, he finds a photo of a girl with "keep safe" written on the back. He is admiring it when his unit is attacked. He survives and credits the photo for saving him. He tries to find the owner but can't, assuming he was killed. When he goes back to the States, he finds it difficult to adjust and is still haunted by what happened. Analyzing the photo, he finds in the background a landmark that tells him she is in Louisiana. He then goes there and finds her. He learns her name is Beth. He tries to tell her what happened but can't get the words out. She assumes he's there to apply for the job they advertised looking for someone to help at her family's business, a dog kennel. He says yes but at first she gets an uneasy feeling from him but her grandmother decides to give him a chance. It isn't long that he makes a connection with her son. He then discovers that it was her brother who had the picture only he doesn't remember him. He sees that her ...

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Plot Keywords:

photo | kennel | dog | loss of brother | playing chess | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cuando te encuentre

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$22,518,358 (USA) (20 April 2012)

Gross:

$60,443,237 (USA) (13 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, DiNovi Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theaters on military installations were given an advanced showing of the film.

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Goofs

After Logan and Beth have made love in Logan's bed, the size of the opening in the mosquito netting changes while Logan is laying there, although Logan is seen to move the netting when he rolls over to watch Beth.

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Quotes

Logan: Finding something like that... in a war... is like finding an angel in hell. So I kept it with me.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #29.133 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Bound At Sea"
Written by Gregory James Jenkins
Performed by Gregory James Jenkins

User Reviews

Director Scott Hicks an obvious mismatch for this material

Director Scott Hicks is famous for lyrically told movies such as Shine and Hearts of Atlantis. He aspires to transcend the narrative with purely visual imagery. When the material inspires him such as with the inner turmoil and triumphant spirit of David Helfgott, it comes through in a magnificent piece of art that is also a terrific movie. He also showcased the acting talents of Geoffrey Rush and Anthony Hopkins magnificently.

Perhaps I'm incorrect, but it seems obvious to me that he considered Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One a pedestrian and run-of-the-mill romance novel. Nor did he consider Zac Effron or the leading lady (Taylor Schilling) in the Anthony Hopkins class. So, I'm guessing (and again, I do not know and I could be wrong but it sure felt this way to me) he pared the working script to a skeleton since the story was an unimportant cliché and tried to tell the story with visual imagery, montages, and a lot of music. In the few moments they actually got the opportunity to act with each other, it looked like Effron & Schilling had some chemistry and enough talent to let the audience in on their romance and FEEL the love story. We'll never know because Director Hall distanced us from the characters and never allowed them to develop. He obviously has respect for Blythe Danner and allows her to express more of her character and what she's thinking and feeling more than he does either star - and she's fine. So, is the young actor playing Schilling's son. Her ex-husband is as bad a cardboard villain as you'd ever want to see and his characterization is internally inconsistent. He also looks too old to have been in high school at the same time as Schilling - but he's hardly the main problem with the movie.

Whether you like Sparks or not, his novels are popular because they convey the complex feelings of military men of honor trying to deal with their post-action feelings in rural civilian situations. This movie never dealt with those feelings. The result is superficial and empty. Oh well, I'm sure Hicks collected his check and between the box office and rentals, the picture did better than break-even. What else matters?