The Last Song. 103 minutes. Rated PG. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson. Screenplay by Nicholas Sparks and Jeff Van Wie. Adapted from the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
When the behemoth Avatar was knocked off the top spot on US box office list, it was by a great little film called Dear John – the story of a young soldier’s (John, played by Channing Tatum) love affair with ‘Savannah’ (played by Amanda Seyfried). Dear John also heralded an international breakthrough for writer Nicholas Sparks (whose 2004 novel The Notebook had also been adapted into a successful film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams).
The secret to Sparks’s success lies in the simple fact that he doesn’t take his predominantly younger audiences for fools – and while his books follow a faintly predictable pathway through romantic drama and all the attendant complications, there is always more than enough character development to ensure we care enough to want to know what is going to happen in the end.
Ronnie Miller (Miley Cyrus) and her brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman) go to spend the holidays with their father Steve (Greg Kinnear) at his house by the sea. The fractured family dynamics play out perfectly as Ronnie punishes her father for having separated from their mother Kim (Kelly Preston) by sulking around the place and taking him to task for his very obvious failings as a husband and father. When she meets a handsome local lad Will (Liam Hemsworth), Ronnie gradually begins to understand that love – and life – can be a great deal more complicated than she ever imagined.
Skilfully directed by Julie Anne Robinson (whose previous work consists mostly of television including episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Weeds) and beautifully edited by Nancy Richardson (Twilight, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) who is obviously right at home in this territory, The Last Song is a charming, engaging and ultimately deeply moving story about the ties that bind us together in our search for someone who will love and understand us.
Cyrus (better known to practically everyone as the indefatigable Hannah Montana) and Melbourne-born Hemsworth (Neighbours, McLeod's Daughters, Home and Away) are excellent as the young leads, and the success of the film owes much to their onscreen charisma and complete lack of pretension. Bobby Coleman is superb as the little brother – and his pivotal scenes late in the film as the drama reaches its conclusion are beautifully handled and extremely moving.
Kinnear (As Good as It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine) delivers an under-stated performance as the ‘can’t-do-anything-right’ Dad, but his character’s journey through the film is ultimately revealed to have been beautifully controlled and painfully honest. The shot of him and Ms Cyrus on the verandah of his house as Jonah is taken home by his mother toward the end of the story is unforgettable.
The Last Song is a smart, surprising, rewarding, deeply-affecting film that will reward lovers of contemporary romantic drama – and it is well worth every minute of the time you spend in its engrossing company.
Pictured: Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in The Last Song.
The review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
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