PART A
Details of the Movie
Starring Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, and Clayne Crawford.
Directed by: Adam Shankman.
Produced by: Denise Di Novi, Hunt Lowry.
Written by: Karen Janszen.
Distributor: Warner Brothers.
Duration: 97 Minutes.
Introduction
The movie A Walk to Remember is film adopted from the novel A Walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks, and it was released in the year 2002 by Holly Wood films in the USA. With its setting in North Carolina, this movie is about a strange relationship between two teenagers (Jammie and Landon) who initially appear as of very two different characters and with different view about life as a whole (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). In the initial stages of the film, Landon is a part of a prank gang whose activities are unbecoming in the society. On the other hand, Jammie is a much-disciplined girl following her Christian background; she is a reverend’s daughter. She is unpopular but full of kindness and faithfulness. Upon their meeting, the two spend a great deal of time together and hence find themselves bonding with each other, an event which leads to them falling in love with each other. As their “Walk” begins, the two shares a lot in life, and Jammie share with Landon a number of dreams that she wants to achieve before her life comes to an end (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002).
My Observation
In this movie, men are viewed as sexual initiators. This is seen in the manner through which Landon acts towards Jamie, for example, when he takes her to an old graveyard armed with blankets and a thermos of coffee. Jamie is surprised at these actions and goes ahead to ask Landon if the actions are meant to seduce her, however Landon denies these claims by asking Jamie is she is actually seducible, a fact which Jamie denies. However, as the scene unfolds, Jamie admits that she is actually in love with Landon, after which she leans on and kisses him (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). From this scene, viewers are able to learn that the female gender is the initiator of sexual activities in relationships. On the other hand, the female gender is normally known to set limits to the level of intimacy within the relationship. Following an invitation to the old graveyard, Jamie was initially unaware of Landon’s intention of seducing her. She even hesitated from accepting the fact that she liked and loved him, but in the end, she gave in to her feelings. This relationship result to several other instances of sexual scenes in the film, whereby nudity is exposed.
Throughout the film, viewers are able to see a transformation in the life of Landon who was a member of prank gang, to a more focused and a God fearing gentleman (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). This is attributed to the relationship he had with Jamie. At the end of the movie, Landon recognizes the fact that Jamie saved him from a terrible life he lived before. This exhibits a theme that a woman’s love is able to change the life of men for the better. The God-fearing nature of Jamie had a great impact in the life of Landon, who in this case can be referred to as a beast, into a prince charming. From this, the viewers are also able to learn that there is power of Christianity conquers evil. This is because, Jamie, who is the daughter of a reverend, managed to transform once an evil boy to a God fearing man with dreams and focus in life. This gives women a very important role of saving the lives of men.
PART B
Summary and analysis of the film
There are a lot of notable events and ideas about A Walk to Remember. This is with regards to the content displayed and themes that come out from the scenes. Firstly, with regards to its content, this movie is rated PG. There is a lot of violent content. Right from the start, the viewers are able to see violence between Landon and Dean his long-term friend in the Prank squad (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). This took place at the beginning of the movie when the students were making fun of Jamie. In defense of the helpless lady, Landon takes the responsibility of protecting her from the jeering crowd, and he punches Dean, who tried to harass Jamie. There are also instances of violence caused by the prank group that Landon was involved in, an event, which led to one very serious injury in the film. There is a character that is pushed into the water only to be retrieved from the water with serious injuries (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). In addition, there are several scenes where teens are involved in a car chase with the police and incidents of serious accidents, whereby blood is displayed to the viewers of the movie. Landon, the main character in the movie is also shown arguing with his parents. These scenes of violence are not appropriate for viewership among young children who require parental guidance.
The film is also full of explicit contents. Sex and nudity are incessantly displayed in several scenes, for example, when Landon took Jamie for a surprise date at the old graveyard (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). There are moments of romances such as when Jamie admits her love for Landon, she leans over and kisses him with a high degree of passion. There are also instances where characters engage in vulgar conversations involving body parts. Dean, who is a long-term friend to Landon, makes sexual gestures to a group of girls, and he goes ahead to grab his crotch, and he does a pelvic thrust in front of these ladies. The two main characters (Landon and Jamie) engage in several romantic scenes. One such episode is when Jamie invites Landon over to her home when her parents are away. It is during this time that they engage in romantic moments. Nudity is also portrayed in the photo-shopped image of Jamie that is seen at the beginning of this film. In this scene, the students are also seen holding pictures of naked women. These scenes are rated PG.
Alcoholism and drug abuse (smoking) is also another notable observation in this film. The teenage characters are involved in a lot of drinking in their home and even at school (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002). Engagement into alcoholism is as a result of peer pressure, which is widespread in the school, in such groups as the prank squad that Landon was involved in. During a get together initiation that was organized by the students, Landon comes in and asks if there is anyone with a bottle of beer, but one student responds to him by saying that all was consumed back in school. In the principal’s office are also kept several empty bottles of beer that were collected from the school compound. These instances show that there is widespread consumption of alcohol in the film, hence leading to its PG ratings.
The language in the film is offensive to young viewers. There are several instances where the teenagers in the film use a lot of vulgar words that are not so impressive when a parent is watching the film alongside children. These words are not acceptable in public places but are widely used among teenagers in schools. Secondly, the film has a twisted story line as seen in the manner through which the relationship between Landon and Jamie develops. In normal circumstances, it is the good girl who falls for the bad boy, but in this film, the writer twisted the normal view of people, making the bad boy (Landon) to fall for the good girl (Jamie).
Devices
A Walk to Remember uses flashbacks, and a bit of mystery as to how the book would end as The character uses a flashback as a device to capture the attention of his audience since this novel is told through anecdotes of fifty-seven years old Landon Carter. He also foreshadow the present thus making the audience know how the film continues for instant the words by Landon to Jamie “It wasn’t until later that I would learn the reason why.” The film also uses many biblical allusion and verses to stress and show how real this novel is. This is because one of the main characters (Jamie) comes from a strong Christian family. The most memorable verse of his time is “I cry to you my Lord, my rock! Do not be deaf to me, for if you are silent” These allusions had some positive impacts on the writer of this film. Due to this reason, he was able to keenly connect the story and reflect on his own life. The writer has also used another device known as rhetorical questions thus making the viewer think and through this maybe answering some questions as they are also included partially. The most achieved device used in this film is imagery, as he describes that most of the scenes were brought clearly on his mind. Dramatic irony is also present in this movie, whereby most characters seem to be unaware of what the viewers are already aware, for example, from the scene of the surprise visit at the graveyard, the viewers could tell that Landon was seducing Jamie into a relationship, but Jamie seemed unaware (Di Novi, & Lowry, 2002).
Grice Maxim in a walk to remember
Grimes theory of Maxim states that in life, there are general rules to be followed, for example in a conversation, there should be four maxims that should be followed; the maxims of relevance, quality, quantity and manner. In this movie, there are several instances whereby Grice maxim has appeared. One of the instances that Grice maxim has been used is during the visit to the old graveyard by Jamie and Landon, in their conversation, Jamie asks Landon whether if he is trying to seduce her, but Landon answers in an ironical manner by asking Jamie if she thinks she is seducible. Here, the maxim of relevance has been violated following the response given by Landon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the movie A Walk to Remember is film is an excellent teenage romantic film. It has been adopted from the novel A Walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks, and it was released in the year 2002 by Holly Wood films in the USA. With its setting in North Carolina, this movie is about a strange relationship between two teenagers who initially appear as of very two different characters and with a different view about life as a whole. In the initial stages of the film, Landon is a part of a prank gang whose activities are unbecoming in the society. This movie passes across the lesson of how a relationship can transform the life of the parties involved. In the beginning, the two main characters were from totally different world, but love has brought them together to share common dreams. Despite the great production, the film contains offensive language and provocative scenes, which leads to its PG ratings.
References
Di Novi, D., & Lowry, H. (2002). A Walk to Remember. New York, NY: Holly Wood.
