A Review

On Valentine’s Day I had the privilege of voyaging to St. John to see the movie Valentine’s Day. To be honest I did not hold high hopes for this film simply because so many top of the line actors and actresses were cast. I was pleasantly surprised.

Although the film did not hold high expectations it did hold my attention and easily soared passed all of those expectations.

 

The film did not focus on one story line, but on the lives of many people, intertwining them and developing a subplot with each new character that we encountered throughout their Valentine’s Day in Las Angeles, California.  This was surprising, frustrating, and yet enjoyable. The typical movie going experience entitles the viewer to become emotionally attached to one or maybe two characters and spending the next two hours with those people. Hoping for their dreams, romance, and job to become unrealistically fulfilled. Valentines Day did not allow the entire audience to become captured by one person, but rather allowed the audience to become divided. Each person in the audience had a different character they favoured which made for a very different movie going experience.

People young and old can relate to love “the only shocking act left on the planet” (as one of the characters states). As the many lives intertwine the scenarios of relationships are only as broad as ones imagination can take them. From the relationship of a marriage lasting decades to that of teenagers wanting to follow the passions of their hormones. Newly engaged couples and couples on a break from each other.

The relationships are as complicated and diverse as real life, with surprises around every turn.  The film depicts controversial real life situations including a man balancing his mistress and a family, A man trying to decide between his career and his relationship and a couple partaking in old fashioned dating and chivalry with new technologies and occupations.

The balance of old dating ideals with contemporary mindsets provides many laughs but also insights into the world today and how it has changed every aspect of our lives, including the romance aspect. It allowed for the watcher to laugh while enjoying and embracing the differences that we each hold on who we love, and why.

What was most enjoyable about the movie was the morals that it upheld. Although many were based on immoral sexual relations the select few were based out of feelings toward each other and were completely monogamous. I appreciated this, especially amongst the high school students in the film, as it was very much realistic. The way in which these results came about may not have been realistic, but the results were. Knowing that people make mistakes, get lost and confused and are, ultimately, always looking for love is realistic to me.

The most enjoyable part of the film was that it was not predictable, just as life is not predictable. The speech that the characters used did not give away their histories or their background too much, which provided for a few surprises at the end of the film. Story lines that viewers expected to develop at the beginning of the film soon turned and took sudden changes that were very unexpected. Although some were still predictable the ending still allowed for a lot of surprises, which I enjoy.