Feb. 13, 2013 - Issue #904: The Sugar Trade
Safe Haven
The safety of love
A slow, sunset-saturated romance, Safe Haven teases a dramatic finish for over an hour and a half, as Katie (Julianne Hough) runs away from her abusive, alcoholic husband. She quickly finds a quiet beach town in which to hide and a slightly goofy version of Josh Duhamel ... err, I mean Alex, played by Josh Duhamel, to fall in love with. Most of the film is stolen glances, and small talk; at one point, they actually get caught in the rain. Safe Haven has such a candy-coated glow that the cuts to Katie's husband, who is getting more and more reckless in his attempts to track her down, feel hacky—almost as if they're from another movie. As such, it's hard for the film to develop the mounting tension it needs as her husband gets closer and closer to finding her.
It should be noted that Safe Haven does not provide an in-depth, realistic look into the psyche of a woman who has suffered through years of abuse. This is diet domestic violence, where the only residual effect seems to be the tendency to jump at loud noises. That being said, to the film's credit, Katie does get to play her own hero—another rare feature in Hollywood storytelling.
Is it a good movie? It's certainly not great. But in a theatre-scape almost completely devoid of romance and flooded, instead, with blockbuster shoot 'em ups and horror flicks, this movie is a safe haven for those looking for a little love this February. vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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