Starting with the casting, and already errors arise. Whilst I'm aware that Toby was born in 1975, he looks too young for this roll. Even Natalie Portman looks a bit young, but watching Toby, especially in the opening scenes, breaks the false reality. Toby is playing a captain, when half the privates look older than him.
Moving on from the casting, we have the story itself. It's rather predictable and slow moving. I could sum up the entire movie in about 2 paragraphs. What angered me most of all was they hinted at some potentially interesting side stories, none of which was expanded upon. The movie sticks to the main plot line, which is only about the emotions of the characters.
The dialogue is also quite predictable. Some of the lines and situations are just painful to watch. In fact the only scenes I found 'real' were the one with the friends in the kitchen. The conversations between the main characters all seemed strained at the best.
If the movie had taken the plot, and actually showed things that were talked about (for instance, how Jake ended up in jail), I would have been more forgiving. There would have been more 'stuff' in the story. As it stands though, the movie is a bare bones emotional story, with frankly not much going on, no side-stories to keep you interested, bad dialogue, and poor casting. If this had no-name actors in it it'd be on the Hallmark channel.
4/10
Moving on from the casting, we have the story itself. It's rather predictable and slow moving. I could sum up the entire movie in about 2 paragraphs. What angered me most of all was they hinted at some potentially interesting side stories, none of which was expanded upon. The movie sticks to the main plot line, which is only about the emotions of the characters.
The dialogue is also quite predictable. Some of the lines and situations are just painful to watch. In fact the only scenes I found 'real' were the one with the friends in the kitchen. The conversations between the main characters all seemed strained at the best.
If the movie had taken the plot, and actually showed things that were talked about (for instance, how Jake ended up in jail), I would have been more forgiving. There would have been more 'stuff' in the story. As it stands though, the movie is a bare bones emotional story, with frankly not much going on, no side-stories to keep you interested, bad dialogue, and poor casting. If this had no-name actors in it it'd be on the Hallmark channel.
4/10