“The Vow” is a perfect film for female teenagers and adults who aspire for true love. A story of fate’s mischief, the film is based on true events of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, and it portrays that true love always has its way of going back even after suffering a major break which in this film is, memory loss.
Paige (Rachel McAdams) wakes up in the hospital after suffering a severe accident and does not remember any memory of her past five years, including her marriage to her husband, Leo (Channing Tatum). Paige’s rejection of her husband acts as the main conflict of the plot. Paige doesn’t remember anything about her husband, but Leo attempts to win her heart back. Leo loves her fiercely and deeply that all those declarations stating his love toward Paige melt some of the female audience’s hearts. Paige’s memories before she met Leo also acts as some of the conflicts the film revolves around.
The film’s main actress and actor portrays a very touching and romantic performance, perhaps contributed by their Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum’s past experiences in romance films (“The Notebook” and “Dear John”). Both Tatum and McAdams show an acting performance much more in-depth than what their beautiful looks propose. Yet, their aesthetic appearances also contribute to the much “true love couple” concept. If physically unattractive actor and actress were the main characters in the film, it might have rather given a less touching feeling to the audience.
The Vow’s filmmakers obviously targeted their audience toward female teens and adults, since Channing Tatum’s skin and body were just randomly revealed in many parts of the film. Also, the male actor is marked as the perfect man a woman dreams for, a person who shows unrequited love, plus having a polished appearance that made teen girls swoon in the theater. Some partial nudity and sexual content are involved in the film, giving it a rating of PG-13.
The film itself is a very good idea, as it feels “like reading your favorite book once again without knowing the story.” The ending does not serve what the audience craves for though, as the main character Paige never regains her memory, but still shows love toward Leo. It is a rather typical, classic tale revolving on the very popular conflict of amnesia, but its relevance to true events gives a flare to the audience that this type of true love story can be true.
