Safe Haven (I) (2013)

A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Dana Stevens (screenplay), Gage Lansky (screenplay),

Stars:

Julianne Hough, David Lyons, Josh Duhamel

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Hough	...	Katie
Irene Ziegler	...	Mrs. Feldman
Jon Kohler	...	Bus Station Clerk
Tim Parati	...	Bus Station Worker
David Lyons	...	Tierney
Josh Duhamel	...	Alex
Giulia Pagano	...	Pushy Bus Woman
Juan Piedrahita	...	Jr. Detective Ramirez (as Juan Carlos Piedrahita)
Red West	...	Roger
Noah Lomax	...	Josh
Mimi Kirkland	...	Lexie
Robin Mullins	...	Maddie
Jasper Grey	...	Bus Boy
Tora Hallstrom	...	Ivan's Waitress
Wendy Wilmot	...	Realtor

Storyline

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and ...

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Plot Keywords:

widower | two word title | abusive husband | husband wife relationship | ghost | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving threatening behavior, and for violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

14 February 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un lugar donde refugiarse

Filming Locations:

Southport, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$21,401,594 (USA) (15 February 2013)

Gross:

$71,346,930 (USA) (24 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Relativity Media, Temple Hill Entertainment, Nicholas Sparks Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carey Mulligan was rumored for the lead role.

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Goofs

The fireworks were being transported to the launch site were the common class 'C' home type of artillery shells, yet the fireworks launched were of the large 10 to 12 inch commercial mortar type.

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Quotes

Alex: Grab a book!
Lexie: Yeah, they'e really good books.
Alex: How do you know, you didn't read any of them.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.87 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"The Journey"
Written by Tim Myers and Schuyler Fisk
Performed by FM Radio

User Reviews

Another failed Sparks adaptation

¨There's no safer place for you than here with me.¨ Chicks will definitely love this film, but I found it to be yet another recycled Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Sparks may have a fan base through his novels and movie adaptations, but if he continues to write the same movie over and over again he will eventually lose them all. I was a fan of The Notebook because the relationship felt authentic and Sparks writing was new to me, I really liked it, but Safe Haven is completely flawed. Not only is it full of romantic clichés (we get to see another canoeing scene in a lake interrupted by rain like in The Notebook), but it has some of the worst plot twists I've seen in film history. I guess it was an attempt from Sparks to make this film different from the rest, but the suspense and thrills never worked. It felt like The Stepfather with the melodrama from any chick flick you've seen. It's too bad Safe Haven didn't work because I like Swedish director, Lasse Hallstrom, who has made Chocolat, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. This is one film that he would probably want to erase from his resume. The writers in charge of adapting Sparks' novel were Dana Stevens (City of Angels and For Love of the Game) and Gage Lansky. The script was weak, predictable, and extremely mushy. The film also suffers from a weak lead performance from Julianne Hough who was much better in the musicals she starred in: Burlesque and Rock of Ages. Her performance never felt believable and that hurt the chemistry with her co-star Josh Duhamel, who has also made a living off rom-coms like When in Rome, or Life as We Know It. Those mediocre movies look like masterpieces when compared to Safe Haven. Duhamel is a likable actor, but Hough's performance made it difficult to tolerate this film. The movie begins with a young scared girl named Katie (Julianne Hough) making a frenetic escape from her hometown in Boston to a small North Carolina town known as Southport. She's running from something, but we are never shown exactly what happened. All we know is that something happened in her home involving a knife and a man, and now she has cut her hair and died it blonde and has escaped to this isolated place. Police officer, Tierney (David Lyons), tries to hunt her down but gets to the bus station a few seconds late. Katie decides that Southport is the perfect place to start over and finds a nice little cabin in the woods and a job at a local coffee shop. Katie tries to keep to herself, but she forms a nice bond with a little girl named Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) who is the daughter of widowed Alex (Josh Duhamel). Alex soon falls for Katie's good looks and they grow closer together. However Katie never mentions anything about her past. Katie also befriends her neighbor, Jo (Cobie Smulders), who seems to always be there for her for good advice. As Katie begins to fall for Alex more and more, she is still haunted by her past and isn't sure what her next move should be. Thus the melodrama begins. Safe Haven had some beautiful shots of romantic locations, but it was full of clichés and bad dialogues. At times while the music was playing the film even felt like one long music video or commercial. Safe Haven also suffers from an extensively long plot. At almost two hours I kept waiting for the end to approach, and it never did. One plot twist after another the film continued to grow increasingly tiring and tedious. By the end if you thought the film was entertaining you will be left with a bad taste in your mouth because the final twist is just ridiculous. Yes the film is romantic and sweet and girls will love this movie, but I don't think the male audience will be won over by the suspense and thrills. It didn't work for me, there was just no depth to the characters or the story.