Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Religious Music and Entertainment
‘The Choice’ film is a positive contribution to the culture

‘The Choice’ film is a positive contribution to the culture

Last updated on: February 7, 2016 at 9:18 am by Sister Rose

‘The Choice’ film is a positive contribution to the culture 2016-02-07T09:18:01-07:00 Sister Rose

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One summer in Georgia coastal Low Country, a young medical resident, Gabby Holland (Teresa Palmer), rents a house next to Travis Parker (Benjamin Walker) who parties late and loud and seems to have girls coming and going. Gabby wants to study and is not impressed; irritated by all the noise, she confronts Travis. Travis, with his lazy smile, is an inveterate flirt, but no amount of sweet-talk seems to get through to Gabby. At first.

When her boyfriend, Dr. Ryan McCarthy (Tom Welling) goes out of town for several weeks, Gabby and Travis become friendly. And then some. After several months, but for about two-thirds of the movie, they become engaged and marry. They speak about faith: Gabby is more traditional and Travis loves to contemplate the heavens. Their careers (he is a veterinarian like his father, played by Tom Wilkinson) are on solid ground, and two children follow very quickly. They work hard but Ben’s long hours bother Gabby. Then something tragic happens — and Ben is left with the most difficult choice a husband will ever have to make.

The Choice is Nicholas Sparks’ 11th novel adapted for the screen. It looks gorgeous. The film showcases the South Carolina and Georgia’s Low Country, where the view is breathtaking.

I interviewed Nicholas Sparks by phone about this latest production, which is his favorite, at least until the next film based on one of his books is released. I asked about the formulas he uses in his books as I did back in 2012 for “The Lucky One.” At that time he described these as “a plot that moves through all life’s emotions from loss, sorrow, jealousy, betrayal, sadness, tragedy, reconciliation, love to joy. He also said that there are three things that he insists on when his books are turned into movies: 1) That the spirit and intent of the story are maintained; 2) that the spirit and intent of the characters are maintained; and 3) that the filmmakers make the best movie possible.

Today Sparks added, “I tend to write stories that people will enjoy, stories that evoke the full realm of human emotion. Some might say I write love stories; others will call them tragedies or family dramas. The nature of what I write is in eye of the beholder, but for me they need to include a broad spectrum of human emotions and this means love, joy and sadness.”

Support the independent Catholic news source that’s on the ground bringing you the full story. Subscribe to NCR today!
Sparks also said that he liked to keep some elements the same in all the stories he writes so that “readers will have some idea of what is coming, such as a love story in the South and a couple of flawed characters that they will hopefully like anyway. Some stories are written in first person, some in the third, and some both; some are short, others long; some are epic. But they all explore romance, danger and sacrificial love. The ages of the characters and time periods differ, and the endings are tragic, bittersweet and sometimes happy.”

As far as I can tell, the audience for Sparks’ movies is romantics who are mostly female, from adolescents to grandmothers. The sexuality in the films has gone from quite chaste (“A Walk to Remember”) to what the Catholic News Service review described as “semigraphic” in “The Lucky One.” He also told me in a previous interview that if there is a couple making love, it means that they will get married and stay together. I asked Sparks in this interview about this evolution and he said, “Most people understand that I try to write novels that feel authentic and honest to the world in which we live with the perspective that sex is a meaningful and sacrificial act of love.

“Most people know that the cultural norms in Hollywood have become more explicit. I try not to cast sexual encounters in a moral light but in the light of, ‘So, that happened; now what?’ I ask myself: How I can tell a compelling story that people will read or watch in an age when Hollywood is very graphic and relationships often filmed in ways that minimize the importance of sexuality, especially between married people? When it comes to sex, profanity and violence, many novels and films go a lot further than I do and they grab viewers’ attention because they go so far. For me it’s the difference between if you’re in a car and you see a horrible accident versus when you drive home and nothing happens or see a car swerving ahead of you; how do you make the swerve as interesting as an accident? The accident is naturally compelling; it just is.”

Regarding the faith expressed in the film, Sparks says, “Gabby and Travis are both believers but in different ways. This goes to my own thoughts about faith — faith is a journey, faith waxes and wanes throughout our lives, there’s a reevaluation about what faith means to people throughout the course of their lives, and in hard times, faith is tested.”

Does Sparks write his novels in view of their becoming films?

“I conceive a story thinking that it might possibly be a film,” he said, “but once I start writing it, it’s only about the writing.”

“The Choice” is a very watchable movie. The landscape almost overwhelms the acting, which, to tell the truth, does not even have to be that great because, from the first moments the chemistry between Walker and Palmer builds, and you can probably plot the story from your seat; it is predictable. It’s a nice story about nice people trying to make their way in a beautiful world when something unthinkable happens.

But to Nicholas Sparks this story, as with his others, is a positive contribution to the culture. “In a world in which the news is filled with so many terrible things, it’s always nice to go into a movie and escape for a little while and walk out feeling refreshed and energized.”

“That sounds almost like church,” I said.

To which Sparks replied, “Yes.”

The above is my review from the National Catholic Reporter but I want to add another theme from my review with Nicholas Sparks – that of the lack of diversity in his novels and subsequent movies. He said that in one of his latest novels the heroine is a Latina and that the heroes in his novel and film “The Longest Ride” are Jewish.

However, as yet, there are few other ethnicities in his novels, he admits. I am hoping we will see more in the future, more reflective of the culture.

Adolescent

Adult Faith Formation

Film Reviews

Popular Culture

Spirituality and Media

Previous Post

February 1, 2016

"No Más Bebés" (no more babies) a must-see in an election year

Next Post

February 10, 2016 "Jesus and the Bullies" Sr. Rose talks about the new film "The Young Messiah"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Adolescent Adult Faith Formation Advertising Analysis Animals Pets Animation art Authors Awards best pope pictures Bible BioPic Blogs Book Reviews Books books into film Catechesis Catholic comedy Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Catholics in Media Christian genre Christmas movies Church and cinema Cognitive science Comedy Comics Commerntary Communication Cooking Courses Critics and Criticism Dance Daughters of St Paul news Devil movies digital games Documentary Drama Economics Ecumenical Education and Technology Education: Access and Empowerment electronic Environment Events Exorcism movies Eye on Entertainment Faith and film Faith formation Fantasy Film Essays Film Festivals Film History Film Retreat Film Reviews Film TV about Ultra Orthodox Jews Food General Grace Historical thriller History Horror How to Images INNdustry with Sister Rose Internet Interviews jesuits Kindness Lectures Lent Life Lists Literature media Media analysis Media Literacy/Media Mindfulness Music Musical National Catholic Reporter New on DVD Non-violence Nonviolence Obituaries On Faith and Media Oscars Ovis et bovis et universe pecore Parenting Pastoral Communication Pastoral communications Pauline Books & Media pax christi PCMS & Online Courses Peace Philosophy Photos Planning for Communication pope francis Popular Culture Radio RCL Benziger reality tv Reflections on life and grace religion Religious Lif Research Resources Retreat Rosary Sacraments Science and faith Social justice Social Media spirituality Spirituality and Media Sports Sr Rose Faith and Media Sr. Rose movies St. Anthony Messenger Stage & Theater stereotypes story Streaming series Survey Television the bible the bible movie The INNdustry with Sr Rose the voice Theater Themes of Catholic Social Teaching theologizing violence Theology theology of violence TV reviews and notes Uncategorized Video Video games Violence VR Games War War films Women World Film Young Adult YouTube

Select a Month September 2025 March 2025 December 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 December 2022 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 December 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the correct chronological order of Paul's travels mentioned in his letters to the Corinthians?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Asia, Jerusalem, Corinth, Macedonia Corinth, Jerusalem, Macedonia, Asia Macedonia, Corinth, Jerusalem, Asia Jerusalem, Macedonia, Corinth, Asia