Of course John is overseas on a series of missions so secret that Savannah cannot be told where, exactly, he is. Apparently not in Iraq or Afghanistan, because it can hardly be a military secret that the men of Special Forces are deployed there. But somewhere, anyway, and he re-enlists for a good chunk of her early childbearing years, perhaps because, as " The Hurt Locker " informs us, "war is a drug.
It matters not. In this movie, war is a plot device. It loosens its grip on John only long enough to sporadically renew his romance, before claiming him again so that we finally consider Savannah's Dear John letter just good common sense. Now that I've brought that up: considering that the term "Dear John letter" has been in constant use since World War II, and that the hero of this movie is inevitably destined to receive such a letter, is it a little precious of Sparks to name him "John"?
I was taught in Dan Curley's fiction class that when the title of a story is cited in the story itself, the story's spell is broken. But then Sparks never took Curley's class. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from until his death in In , he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Rated PG for some sensuality and violence. Cotrona as Noodles.
Richard Jenkins as Mr. Channing Tatum as John. In , in Charleston, South Carolina, John is on vacation. He meets Savannah Curtis , a college student on spring break, when he rescues her purse from the water. Over the course of two weeks, Savannah and John fall in love. Savannah meets John's father , a reclusive man who seems to be obsessed with his coin collection specifically mules , but his genuine interest draws her, to John's surprise. Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have high-functioning autism.
This upsets John, who storms off, and then gets into a fight with Savannah's friend Randy and, in the process, accidentally punches Tim. John apologizes to Tim, leaves Savannah a note, and then they spend one last day together, parting with, "I'll see you soon then" rather than goodbye. John and Savannah continue their relationship through letters, expecting to build a life together when he leaves the army.
But the recent September 11 attacks make him reconsider the army, and he ultimately chooses to re-enlist. Over the next two years, the romance goes on, through their letters. After a time, John finds himself anxiously awaiting the next letter, but when it arrives it is a Dear John letter, informing him that she has become engaged to someone else.
John burns all of Savannah's letters. Savannah says that she knows one thing for sure— that they will meet soon, which seems to imply that she will always consider John to be a part of her life, even if they are no longer romantically involved.
And considering the film also stresses how time eventually runs out for every relationship, the fact that the two share a deep connection is perhaps more important than the relationship that they might or might not have.
He also thinks about Savannah just before passing out. However, we see him recovering in a hospital in Germany later in the film, telling us that he does, in fact, survive. Despite his repeated postings in war zones after getting shot, the film closes with John and Savannah hugging, telling us definitively that the Special Forces soldier is alive.
Even the man he sells the collection to seems mystified. However, the whole story is subtly revealed after that. The anonymous donation that Tim receives to get his experimental cancer treatment is actually from John.
Considering everything, this is a particularly big-hearted gesture. Tim is an old friend of Savannah and her family who has a son on the autism spectrum.
Leslea Fisher Susan as Susan. William Howard Daniels as Daniels. David Andrews Mr. Curtis as Mr. Mary Rachel Quinn Mrs. Curtis as Mrs. Curtis as Mary Rachel Dudley. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit.
Being gallant on the pier, he befriends college student Savannah, a college student, and her buddies, a terminal father and his angelic son. John falls in love with Savannah, who diagnoses his beloved, gentle but weird father as mildly autistic. Is Duty enough reason to live a lie? Drama Mystery Romance Thriller War. Rated PG for some sensuality and violence. Did you know Edit. Trivia "Dear John" is slang for a breakup letter.
This scene is not necessarily a mistake. Although not well explained in the movie, in the book John was stationed in Kosovo. He could simply have been standing outside a Hungarian-style coffee shop there, which explains the Hungarian language on the store front.
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