MAKE A CHOICE TO AVOID THIS
Predictable Sparks adaptation follows the same tired formula
I’ve had the occasion to see five films based on the novels of Nicholas Sparks — there have been 11 to date, since Message in a Bottle let the dogs out in 1999 — but the misfortune to enjoy none of them. So I walked into The Choice with distinctly lowered expectations. And I walked out disappointed.
The film is a tick- the- boxes, by- the- numbers affair, adapted by Bryan Sipe, whose original work ( Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal that opens later this year) is several orders of magnitude better. But let’s open a few of those boxes.
Setting: Sparks’ stories tend to be set in the mid- South, in a small town or near the ocean. This one, in coastal, rural North Carolina, manages all three. An added benefit is that the sunlight is forever falling between tree leaves and bouncing off the water as the leads sit on the beach in their swimwear. You can almost hear director Ross Katz telling his cinematographer: “More dapple!”
Wardrobe: The southern climate all but guarantees that hunky Travis ( Benjamin Walker) will need to do some engine repair while topless, while lovely Gabby ( Teresa Palmer) dons a demure but flattering sundress with spaghetti straps. Check and check.
Elders: Travis is a secondgeneration veterinarian, apprentice to the kindly Dr. Shep ( Tom Wilkinson) who lost his wife many years earlier, but grieves for her still. There’s also mention of the people who used to own the house next to Travis’ before Gabby moved in; they sound suspiciously like the couple from The Notebook. However, in a rare reversal of the Sparks genre, Gabby’s parents are not against the romance between their daughter and Travis; instead, they’re almost comically for it.
Rivals: If there’s anyone else vying for Gabby’s heart, you can rest assured the screenplay will have him sucker- punch Travis or hit Gabby or kick Travis’ dog or do something else that will make us lose all faith in him.
Sex: It’s strongly implied, but tastefully shot and performed semi- clothed until the picture fades to black, then dissolves to breakfast the following day.
Weather: Impossibly starry nights not seen since the latest statewide power outage, with a 100- per- cent chance of at least one romantic downpour.
Tragedy: Just about every Sparks adaptation features a death or an injury or an acute medical condition, emphasis on the “cute.” Since the one in The Choice isn’t revealed until late in the film and also functions as the major plot point, I won’t say anything about it except to note that it arrives as conveniently, and departs as mysteriously, as watchers of these films have come to expect.
The marketing: Movies based on the works of Sparks generally feature posters that show the two leads with their heads bent together, as though praying for better roles. This one has one poster that shows exactly that, and another, just as hackneyed, with Travis sitting behind Gabby, arms wrapped around her shoulders. It seems odd that the filmmakers couldn’t have picked just one of these images to go with, but perhaps that was just one choice too many.