Nicholas Sparks has done it again. On Valentine’s Day, he premiered his eighth film adaptation nationwide in the form of “Safe Haven.” This page-turner took audiences by storm with its heart-wrenching story of Katie, a twenty-something-year-old who mysteriously stays in the small town of Southport, N.C. after arriving there for a quick rest stop while on a Coach America travel bus. But when she starts putting down roots in the town, she realizes she might be getting a little too comfortable.
The movie opens in a flashback, showing a dark-haired woman running with what seems to be blood on her clothes. She arrives at a house and begs the elderly woman there for help. In the next scene, the young woman frantically moves through the bus station, obviously desperate to get away as quickly as possible. At the same time and in the same station, though, a Boston police officer holds the woman’s picture up to the ticket sellers, demanding for information about her. But what he doesn’t know is that the dark long-haired woman has cut her locks short and dyed them blonde.
When she arrives in Southport on the bus, while the other travelers make their way into the local general store, the young woman peers over the docks they’ve parked beside and takes in the breathtaking southern view of the water. As the bus loads and departs, she stays behind.
During the next few days, she settles herself in the small town. She buys a small cottage on the edge of town where it is quiet and secluded, gets a job at the local restaurant, Ivan’s, and makes her first trip to the general store where she meets the owner, Alex. She introduces herself as Katie and says she liked the town so much she decided to stay rather than leave with the bus.
Katie meets her somewhat-neighbor, Jo, who lives in the other cottage not too far from Katie’s and immediately a friendship begins to grow between the two. With no means of transportation, Katie walks to the store to pick up paint she had ordered and strikes up a conversation with Alex’s little girl, Lexi. When realizing she has to carry the two gallons of paint back by herself, Alex offers her a ride, though she is hesitant to let him near the inside of her house.
Back in Boston, the police officer from the opening scene discovers Katie on the film of the bus station and sees her short hair. He manipulates an older photo and cuts the hair short and makes it blonde. He puts the picture out with an APB alert to all parts of the country, stating the woman is wanted for murder in the first degree.
As time passes in Southport, Katie develops comfortable relationships with Jo and Alex. It comes to her attention that Alex’s wife died of cancer several years back, leaving him with his daughter Lexi and son Josh. Katie reluctantly accepts a bike from Alex and is able to get around more and over time she allows him to take her out. In a canoe on a beautiful lake, the two talk and open up to one another, but she still will not reveal to him why she keeps an emotional distance.
When Alex sees the APB at his friend’s police station, though, he aggressively confronts her, dismissing her attempt at explanation and tells her to leave. But when he realizes how much he would be losing with her gone, he begs her to stay and tell him her story. The reality of her situation, though, is far from what anyone could have imagined, but Alex insists he will keep her safe.
The movie stars “Transformers” and “When in Rome” actor Josh Duhamel as the widower, Alex. Alongside him is “Rock of Ages” and “Footloose” star Julianne Hough, known mostly for her dance skills — though they are scarce in this film.
“Safe Haven” is Sparks’ 16th novel since 1996, when “The Notebook” was released in hardback. While he seems to write with the same style and context in each of his books, some would find that he is repetitive, but it would seem that it is actually his signature mark. Every one of his books has three aspects in them: they’re based in North Carolina, end in some sort of tragedy and involve a romance. The movie adaptations are no different. Each one has succeeded in leaving audiences with tearstains on their cheeks as they leave the theater.
While the novel included extra scenes with the children and a little more characterization regarding Katie and Alex, the movie was able to “twist the twist” of the storyline and make it even more riveting while still attaining the main goals and points that the novel aimed for.
