The Vow was both entertaining and exasperating.
At an hour and forty-eight minutes, it's not that long when compared to other
films, but the pacing was a little off, so the story seemed to speed along and
then suddenly stagnant in an unimportant part. It's a touching, appropriately
sappy release for Valentine's Day weekend "“ sans tears.
In The
Vow, Channing Tatum plays Leo, husband to Paige, played by Rachel McAdams
of The Notebook. Leo and Paige are in a car accident, and Paige loses
her memory to the extent that she no longer remembers being married or even
being an artist. Paige's last memory is of being the beloved daughter of a
well-to-do family on the cusp of graduating law school.
There's
a certain sense of frustration when dealing with someone who is suffering from memory
loss that Tatum manages to portray in a believable way. McAdams' character's
equal frustration at not remembering is also clearly evident. Both actors
portray the appropriate sense of hope and angst one would expect from this type
of story.
Despite
the surprising high notes of this film's performances, the story moved almost
glacially slow sometimes. Rather than focusing on the story of Paige's
recovery, The Vow tries to cover a
somewhat complicated backstory that's both interesting and mostly unnecessary. While
it explains Paige's sudden decision to leave an extravagant lifestyle behind for
the life of a starving artist, it does nothing to further what I assumed to be
the main focus of the story: Leo and Paige's relationship.
The part of The Vow
I like most is that the conclusion isn't really a conclusion. It wasn't left
open for a sequel, rather you can make your own assumptions about how Leo and
Paige's story ends. The Vow is also inspired by a true event, lending it
a shred of credibility that I probably could not have given it otherwise.
