The Vow - Review

When young, relatively newly-wed couple Paige and Leo are involved in a snow-induced car crash, Paige is left in a life threatening condition and in a coma that threatens her and Leo's happy marriage. Whilst unconscious, her relatively unharmed, but still devoted husband is left wondering and worrying whether or not she will ever recover from the after affects of the accident, and guilty having been the driver of the car when the accident actually occurred. Paige does, eventually, awaken but shocks her husband when he realises that his once-loving wife has terrible memory loss and cannot remember the last five years of her life - or their four-year life and marriage!

Paige is played by the amazing Rachel McAdams (who, herself has appeared in several rom-coms previously including the now-iconic chick-flick "The Notebook" and, to a lesser extent, "The Time Traveller's Wife", leaving the audience slightly concerned that she's starting to get a little typecast for the roles as the hopeless heroine) whilst her husband is played by the relatively unknown Channing Tatum. I'm not going to lie though, when I think about the actor who plays Leo, I would not put him in this situation (having only, personally seen him in action films as the - sometimes unwittingly - dim hard-man) and I wouldn't, necessarily play this character as he should - however he most definitely exceeds expectations greatly in this role. Tenfold.

Following the accident and Paige's reawakening, the audience are introduced to Paige's manipulative parents played by Sam Neil (of, "Jurassic Park" and a whole host of other films!) and Jessica Lange. Straightaway we understand that relations between parent and child are somewhat strained. Why this is the case isn't obvious to the audience other than we understand that Paige was studying Law before dropping out and becoming an artist. Throughout the film, I must say that there is definitely something extremely sinister about Paige's parents and family life - in how they control their confused daughter and how they seem to pull her away from the desperate husband that they do not approve of.

Adding another thread to an already complicated storyline we are introduced to Paige's ex-fiancé (played by Scott Speedman of "xXx" fame) who happens to be (much to Leo's horror), the person that Paige was engaged to five years previously. In her confused head of course, she still believes she is engaged to him! And, of course, she cannot remember how or why they separated from him all those years previously. Paige is then forced to deal with her parents arguing with her husband, the husband she cannot remember confessing his love for her, the ex-fiancé whom she still thinks she loves with a new girlfriend, and a career path that she cannot remember ever choosing and the old choices she cannot remember changing! Phew.

I must admit that when I first saw "The Vow" advertised throughout January I thought "oh, it's just another chick-flick bought out to maximise on the Valentines market", but when I realised it was actually based on a true story and, with the story itself full of twists, turns and moments that old make the audience cringe and gasp I would definitely say that the film itself is one for everybody - for the entire family and for people that enjoy ever different genre of film - with the film itself incorporating different genres of comedy, drama, heartbreak and everything in-between.

Review by Bradley