Staff Writer
The New York Times best seller, Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks, has been brought to life in a beautiful and intense love story on the big screen. True to the novel’s setting, the movie was filmed in Southport, N.C. The film depicts, through the main character’s eyes, the blistering summer heat, many trees, and relaxing coast which the book describes in thorough detail.
Safe Haven follows the story of Katie, a mysterious young woman who recently moved to the small town of Southport, N.C. While trying to maintain a low profile, she finds herself falling for Alex, the widower with two kids who owns the general store. The longer Katie’s the
re, the more attached she becomes to Alex and his young children, Lexie and Josh. Eventually, her past catches up with her, nearly destroying the people closest to her heart.
Although young, Mimi Kirkland as Lexie and Noah Lomax as Josh, Alex’s kids, bring real emotion to the film having both innocence and deep sadness. The chemistry between Julianne Hough as Katie and Josh Duhamel as Alex is perfect. The doting father meeting the blonde outsider who has dark secrets is exactly how the book depicted Katie and Alex. Somehow Alex breaks through the wall of fear that Katie has built up over the years, and she ultimately lets him into her heart. Revealing Katie’s past through flashbacks keeps viewers on the edges of their seats. Staying true to the novel, Sparks’ fans won’t be disappointed.
