Plot
The story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 5.8/10 (807 voted)
Director:Shana Feste
Storyline
The story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Writers: ,
Taglines:
Say Goodbye to Innocence
Release Date:
Filming Locations: Conyers, Georgia, USA
Technical Specs
Runtime:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 3/10
Hollywood has been running out of ideas for years remakes, sequels,
prequels and reboots now seem to be the order of the day. What's hard
to imagine is why anyone thought a remake of Endless Love was necessary
in the first place. The 1981 film of the same name based on a pulpy,
albeit well-regarded, novel by Scott Spencer wasn't even that good to
begin with. At least that version of the story had the distinction of
starring a young, nubile Brooke Shields, not to mention a title song
that became more famous than the movie itself. This remake manages to
be both extremely bland and painfully melodramatic, bled of almost any
hint of controversy or genuine complexity and darkness.
Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) is the quintessential poor little
rich girl: a beautiful, blonde ice princess who has shut herself in
with her parents, Hugh (Bruce Greenwood) and Anne (Joely Richardson),
after the untimely death of her brother Chris. David (Alex Pettyfer) is
a kid from the poorer side of town who has nursed a crush on her
throughout high school. She's college-bound, he just wants to work in
his dad's (Robert Patrick) workshop. When they finally connect, sparks
fly and Jade starts to re-think the safe, perfect future she's planned
with Hugh.
It's all very cookie-cutter high-school romantic melodrama. Nothing
about this film feels particularly fresh or smart, although it does
start out a little better than you'd expect. But, after the initial
meet-cute between Jade and a thoroughly smitten David, Endless Love
quickly descends into trashy predictability: Hugh does everything
within his power to get rid of David, but the spark of love and lust
between the star-crossed couple burns so hot and bright that nothing
will stand in their way.
What's frustrating is that the film has almost completely excised
anything even remotely complex about its plot and characters. The 1981
movie may have been faintly terrible and soapy, but it at least made a
stab at psychological darkness, suggesting that the 'endless love' of
the title bordered more on creepy, damaging obsession than sweet,
romantic love. There's no such suggestion here: David is troubled but
ultimately noble; Jade is purely, truly in love; and it's the
curmudgeonly Hugh who must realise the errors of his ways.
The cast is watchable but not really memorable. Pettyfer broods as if
he knows he's meant for better things. Wilde is effortlessly, often
stunningly beautiful, but doesn't have much to offer beyond that.
Greenwood has the most scenery to chew he practically twirls an
invisible moustache and cackles at some points but it's Richardson
who walks away with the film's few affecting moments (even though her
character loses much of its shock value in morphing into the archetypal
loyal, loving housewife).
You would imagine that, in a cinematic landscape overrun by remakes,
these films would at the minimum have something interesting to say
about the times in which we live now. They can make a case for their
existence, perhaps, by being a little edgier than the original films:
explaining why there's a need to tell this old story again. Endless
Love doesn't really manage that. Instead, by forgoing depth and
darkness for schmaltz and sentiment, it ends up being even safer and
sweeter than a movie shot over thirty years ago.
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