The Vow - quick review (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Inspired by true events, "The Vow" features Rachel McAdams as Paige, and Channing Tatum as Leo, a young married couple who experienced an accident which left Paige without her memories for the past handful of years, a span of time before she changed college plans/careers, jilted her then-fiance, became estranged from her family, met and fell in love with Leo. Obviously Leo bares the brunt of knowing how good they were together, only to have Paige understandably be wary of him, as she views Leo as practically a total stranger to her due to her memory loss. Her parents use this event to welcome her back into the family, causing Leo much consternation and heartache. The plotline goes through Paige's struggles to fill in the gaps, re-connect with the life she once knew from 4-5 years ago, catching up with people important to her then (and uncomfortably in the present at times), and uncovering the reasons why her life changed. McAdams is perfectly fine in a role she can do in her sleep, but she puts into an earnest effort in portraying Paige's re-discovery of her past and the confused emotional undercurrents she experiences along the way. Tatum is still sort of a lovable lunkhead, but his portrayal of Leo does stretch his acting talents a bit, and his own emotional responses to his wife's condition are equally as ernest, even if their journey as a couple hits quite a pothole and they have to sort through the aftermath. I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.