Film Review: "Safe Haven"

And so it begins again.  Whenever a new year starts, I always have one question—what will the next twelve months of movies be like?  Happier or sadder?  Better or worse?  The same is always?  It’s always exciting when these questions are a complete mystery, just as it’s thrilling to go to the movies for the first time in the new year to see the answers beginning to unfold.

So far, I for one am satisfied.  “Safe Haven,” the first 2013 film I’ve seen, is a workable romantic melodrama, one that seems catch itself every time it slips off the rails.  That has a great deal to do with Julianne Hough, the movie’s attractive star, but also with the intelligent craftsmanship of director Lasse Hallström and editor Andrew Mondshein.  Together, they have made a formulaic melodrama that almost feels like a passion project.

From the first scene, tension seems to shred the screen.  Katie (Ms. Hough) is on the run from her abusive husband Tierney (a menacing David Lyons).  We see her racing through the rain to catch a bus, a hood pulled over her head in a frightened attempt at a disguise.  She escapes, but her fear never fully evaporates.  Sudden noises (whether from cars or coffee makers) make her jump like a hunted creature; and she’s haunted by dark memories of Tierney’s violence.

In this narrative equation, there is of course a utopian alternative to the dystopian vision of Tierney and his world of suburban crime (he happens to be a cop, unfortunately).  Katie finds a new home in a small, portside southern town, where she’s gradually won over by a widower named Alex (Josh Duhamel).  She resists his advances, gamely, but this is an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel (he wrote “The Notebook,” “The Last Song,” and “The Lucky One”) so making love really is the only option.

This kind of formula is not bothersome—why watch any movie if not to experience romance?  What is slightly problematic is that the characters are vague archetypes at best.  It makes sense that Katie never reveals much about her past life, but what of her interests, hopes, dreams, and aspirations?  Surely there’s more to her than just wanting to escape one man and find another.  Similarly, it would make the movie more enjoyable if Alex was defined by something more than his grief, his courtship skills, and his attempts to father his kids.

These are gaping holes and with a stronger script (the movie was written by Leslise Bohern and Dana Stevens), I think Ms. Hough and Mr. Duhamel could have filled in the pieces.  But Mr. Hallström and Mr. Mondshein work hard at that job.  What sustains your interest in “Safe Haven” is the way the alternate scenes of Katie’s beatific seaside existence with moments Tierney’s fevered search for his wife.  Snapping at subordinates and interrogating neighbors, he’s a credibly frightening villain, especially in the moments where he manages to keep his emotions in check (watch his convincing performance at a bus ticket window).  This element of danger keeps the movie from devolving into a romantic scenic tour, just as the romance alleviates the nervous, abusive tension when necessary.

This kind of narrative balance makes “Safe Haven” an enjoyable comeback for Mr. Hallström.  Last year, he released “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” a painfully syrupy comedy packed with pretentiousness.  Most obnoxiously, it pretended to have some sort of political conscience.  “Safe Haven,” by contrast, sticks to the characters and allows some secrets to stay buried Ms. Hough’s serious, controlled persona.  You’re never more with her then when she’s alone and vulnerable at the beginning, but the movie the movie never loses you, even when it seems to be fading.