This film is about a boy named Ben who is repeatedly neglected by his hapless parents, who are clearly unfit to raise a child since they are infused with their own lives.
Then one night, a car wreck happens right near their diner. There is one survivor: a girl about Ben's age named Cassie. As Ben narrates, this changes his life forever. And it does. Cassie, after a brief stretch of time, wakes Ben in the middle of the night. This is where Cassie suggests that they leave Ben's home and live with her aunt and uncle, who are evidently supposed to be hip. So the whole journey starts. Ben agrees, and they head to Baltimore. As the movie progresses, Cassie suggests they get married. "It's a major part of the plan." She says. Ben seems not to believe it, but when they have a small ceremony in a farm, Cassie is all smiles and Ben gets extremely nervous when asked to kiss her. This shows that some sort of bond has formed between them.
But all the while, you notice Cassie continues to lose sleep because her dreams keep leading her back to the horrible night that she lost both her parents in the car wreck. Soon after one of her first nightmares, Cassie questions Ben about what kind of plan he has for his life. When he tells her he wants to play baseball, she seems to use this to try and distract herself from her nightmares. Ben starts to notice something's going on, but when he questions her about it, she refuses to tell him anything.
In Baltimore it becomes clear that something is deeply troubling Cassie. She becomes depressed, snappy, and she starts to seclude herself from her aunt and uncle, and even Ben. Cassie also clings to Ben's dream of being a pitcher more tightly and becomes angry with Ben when he reminds her that he's only thirteen and can't get signed right away. Ben by now is extremely worried about her, and it leads to their first fight. Afterward Cassie apologizes because she knows that it's not Ben's fault that she's having a hard time. And when Cassie has yet another nightmare that has her lying on the other end of the bed, moaning, Ben quietly and desperately pleads her for an explanation. But all Cassie does is start to cry.
The next night is when it happens. Cassie's refusal to get her problem off her chest has rendered her mind extremely unstable, and she loses her mind that night by collapsing onto the floor, sobbing in a very frightened and upset way. It is as if she herself does not know what has happened to her. Ben kneels by her side, no matter how frightening it is for the both of them at that moment.
Basically, this story is trying to make a few points. Point one, experiencing other people's deaths (especially the deaths of your parents) can effect a person in ways people may not have believed possible. As we find out later, Cassie's father tried to sexually harass her while he was driving and drunk, and Cassie's mother did nothing. Cassie then dived onto her father screaming, causing the wreck. Because of these reasons Cassie has irrepressible guilt about her parent's deaths.
Point two, a single moment can change your life forever. And it was that single stroke of the moment that Ben met Cassie. It was also in the single stroke of the moment that Cassie's parents died. Had these events not taken place, Ben and Cassie never would have met.
Point three, you can take friends for granted, but true loyalty is tested when your friend needs you the most. Cassie is admitted to a psych ward and is upset, confused, and very scared. And Ben, ever faithful, sticks with her to the end, which is somewhat happy for the both of them.
Point four, if you don't make your dreams happen, chances are they won't happen. Cassie got Ben out of his boring, might-as-well-not-even-exist life and awoke him to the world around him. When he goes to visit her, Ben decides that since Cassie helped him to break out of the dull life he once led, he is going to break Cassie out of the psych ward. At first, she refuses, telling Ben "Ben, I'm sick. When you kill two people it makes you sick." Ben takes her out anyway, and they continue their lives together. In the end, the film has an epilogue where Ben ends up becoming what he wants to be, a pitcher. Cassie is shown cheering in the stands at one of Ben's games. They also have two children (unnamed).
I believe the reason this film got bad reviews is because when people see a movie, they want one of those movies where you can predict what might happen. They don't want an unpredictable movie. That's the reason I enjoyed it so much. I myself have seen too many movies, and they are almost too predictable. This movie was not predictable at all, and I took pleasure in that.
All in all, a movie with good messages. Good enough for DVD, however. The reason for this is plot holes, lighting issues, and the director. Either he was a first-time director or he just didn't try as hard as he could have. Luckily the acting was good. Cayden Boyd and AnnaSophia Robb were both wonderful and proved themselves to act. AnnaSophia is proving herself over and over to be a brilliant actress, and Cayden shows his potential to act here as well.
See this film. You may learn something.
Then one night, a car wreck happens right near their diner. There is one survivor: a girl about Ben's age named Cassie. As Ben narrates, this changes his life forever. And it does. Cassie, after a brief stretch of time, wakes Ben in the middle of the night. This is where Cassie suggests that they leave Ben's home and live with her aunt and uncle, who are evidently supposed to be hip. So the whole journey starts. Ben agrees, and they head to Baltimore. As the movie progresses, Cassie suggests they get married. "It's a major part of the plan." She says. Ben seems not to believe it, but when they have a small ceremony in a farm, Cassie is all smiles and Ben gets extremely nervous when asked to kiss her. This shows that some sort of bond has formed between them.
But all the while, you notice Cassie continues to lose sleep because her dreams keep leading her back to the horrible night that she lost both her parents in the car wreck. Soon after one of her first nightmares, Cassie questions Ben about what kind of plan he has for his life. When he tells her he wants to play baseball, she seems to use this to try and distract herself from her nightmares. Ben starts to notice something's going on, but when he questions her about it, she refuses to tell him anything.
In Baltimore it becomes clear that something is deeply troubling Cassie. She becomes depressed, snappy, and she starts to seclude herself from her aunt and uncle, and even Ben. Cassie also clings to Ben's dream of being a pitcher more tightly and becomes angry with Ben when he reminds her that he's only thirteen and can't get signed right away. Ben by now is extremely worried about her, and it leads to their first fight. Afterward Cassie apologizes because she knows that it's not Ben's fault that she's having a hard time. And when Cassie has yet another nightmare that has her lying on the other end of the bed, moaning, Ben quietly and desperately pleads her for an explanation. But all Cassie does is start to cry.
The next night is when it happens. Cassie's refusal to get her problem off her chest has rendered her mind extremely unstable, and she loses her mind that night by collapsing onto the floor, sobbing in a very frightened and upset way. It is as if she herself does not know what has happened to her. Ben kneels by her side, no matter how frightening it is for the both of them at that moment.
Basically, this story is trying to make a few points. Point one, experiencing other people's deaths (especially the deaths of your parents) can effect a person in ways people may not have believed possible. As we find out later, Cassie's father tried to sexually harass her while he was driving and drunk, and Cassie's mother did nothing. Cassie then dived onto her father screaming, causing the wreck. Because of these reasons Cassie has irrepressible guilt about her parent's deaths.
Point two, a single moment can change your life forever. And it was that single stroke of the moment that Ben met Cassie. It was also in the single stroke of the moment that Cassie's parents died. Had these events not taken place, Ben and Cassie never would have met.
Point three, you can take friends for granted, but true loyalty is tested when your friend needs you the most. Cassie is admitted to a psych ward and is upset, confused, and very scared. And Ben, ever faithful, sticks with her to the end, which is somewhat happy for the both of them.
Point four, if you don't make your dreams happen, chances are they won't happen. Cassie got Ben out of his boring, might-as-well-not-even-exist life and awoke him to the world around him. When he goes to visit her, Ben decides that since Cassie helped him to break out of the dull life he once led, he is going to break Cassie out of the psych ward. At first, she refuses, telling Ben "Ben, I'm sick. When you kill two people it makes you sick." Ben takes her out anyway, and they continue their lives together. In the end, the film has an epilogue where Ben ends up becoming what he wants to be, a pitcher. Cassie is shown cheering in the stands at one of Ben's games. They also have two children (unnamed).
I believe the reason this film got bad reviews is because when people see a movie, they want one of those movies where you can predict what might happen. They don't want an unpredictable movie. That's the reason I enjoyed it so much. I myself have seen too many movies, and they are almost too predictable. This movie was not predictable at all, and I took pleasure in that.
All in all, a movie with good messages. Good enough for DVD, however. The reason for this is plot holes, lighting issues, and the director. Either he was a first-time director or he just didn't try as hard as he could have. Luckily the acting was good. Cayden Boyd and AnnaSophia Robb were both wonderful and proved themselves to act. AnnaSophia is proving herself over and over to be a brilliant actress, and Cayden shows his potential to act here as well.
See this film. You may learn something.