Safe Haven (film)

Safe Haven
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lasse Hallström
Produced by	Marty Bowen Chad Freet Wyck Godfrey Ryan Kavanaugh
Screenplay by	Gage Lansky Dana Stevens
Based on	Safe Haven  by Nicholas Sparks
Starring	Julianne Hough Josh Duhamel David Lyons Cobie Smulders
Music by	Deborah Lurie
Cinematography	Terry Stacey
Editing by	Andrew Mondshein
Studio	Relativity Media Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributed by	Relativity Media
Release date(s)	February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$28 million
Box office	$91,693,774

Safe Haven is a 2013 American romance film starring Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel and Cobie Smulders. It was released theatrically in North America on February 14, 2013. The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, and is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's novel of the same name. The film was originally set for a February 8 release, but was moved to February 14, 2013.

Plot

Katie (Julianne Hough) flees to the small town of Southport, North Carolina, to escape a dark secret in her past. She befriends her neighbor, Jo (Cobie Smulders) and meets handsome Alex Wheatley, (Josh Duhamel), the manager of a local convenience store, and his two children, Lexie and Josh. Alex's wife tragically died of cancer a few years prior.

Katie and Alex begin a romantic relationship. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mother's replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin, a husky Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, forges reports that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and promises to protect her no matter what. Initially, Katie wants to flee but then she decides to stay in Southport and she and Alex help prepare the town for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Later, Katie tells Alex that Kevin is her husband, whom she stabbed him a kitchen knife in order to protect herself from his drunken assault. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Katie's mother's home and finds the phone number to the Southport restaurant that employs Katie. He finds the location and makes his way there, noticeably drunk. Arriving just on time for the Fourth of July parade, Kevin begins his search for Katie through the crowd, belligerent. Later, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that "he" is here.

Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a fast asleep Lexie. While she is walking around in the store, Kevin makes his appearance and confronts her, drunk and sobbing and asking her to talk. He asks her to go back home with him, but she refuses and tells him to leave. He pulls out a revolver while Katie asks Lexie to stay up in the second floor of the store, scared that she might see Kevin and become frightened. Meanwhile, Kevin is pouring gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down. He sits down on the steps with a lighter, deep in thought, and Katie fakes sympathy for him and agrees to return home with him, only to push him into the water by surprise. However, a firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that spreads all over the store.

Alex, busy shooting off fireworks, sees the burning store and quickly makes his way across the lake by boat. He manages to make his way up to the second floor and rescue Lexie from the burning building. Meanwhile, Katie is wrestling with a soaked Kevin who is attempting to shoot her. After a long struggle, she grabs a hold of the gun and kills him. Soon after, Alex finds Katie and they embrace passionately.

In the aftermath , Alex riffles through a desk belonging to his ex-wife, where he finds multiple letters she prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Josh's eighteenth birthday and his graduation. Katie finds a letter with the words "For Her" on the envelope. The letter talks about how thankful she is for whomever is now reading the letter and thanks the reader for making Alex feel young and in love again. The movie ends by revealing that Jo was actually Alex's deceased wife, who "left" town moments before.

Cast

• Julianne Hough as Katie
• Josh Duhamel as Alex Wheatley
• Cobie Smulders as Jo
• David Lyons as Kevin Tierney
• Mimi Kirkland as Lexie Wheatley
• Noah Lomax as Josh Wheatley
• Irene Ziegler as Mrs. Feldman
• Robin Mullins as Maddie
• Red West as Roger
• Juan Carlos Piedrahita as Detective Ramirez
• Cullen Moss as Deputy Bass
• Mike Pniewski as Lt. Robinson
• Ric Reitz as Police Chief Mulligan

Production

The film began principal photography on June 18, 2012 in Wilmington and Southport, North Carolina. Parts of it were filmed in Louisiana.

Reception

Safe Haven has received largely negative reviews from critics, as it currently holds a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 129 reviews with the consensus: "Schmaltzy, predictable, and melodramatic, just cliche", Safe Haven also suffers from a ludicrous plot twist towards the end, making for a particularly ignominious Nicholas Sparks adaptation."

Home media

Safe Haven was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 7, 2013.

External links

• Safe Haven at the Internet Movie Database
• Safe Haven at AllRovi
• Safe Haven at Box Office Mojo
• Safe Haven at Rotten Tomatoes