The Longest Ride*** (2015, Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin) – Movie Review

‘Love requires sacrifice, always.’ – Ira Levinson. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, this plush romantic drama for twentysomething women is escapist fluff but has its charms. Certainly it is lovingly crafted by director George Tillman Jr and acted with conviction by a strong ensemble.

Girl (Britt Robertson) meets boy – a cowboy (Scott Eastwood). She’s off back to the east coast to take up an art gallery internship. He wants to be world’s number one bull rider. This is dangerous. He’s already had a near-fatal accident last year.

They see an automobile crash, and rescue a much older man called Ira (Alan Alda) and his box of letters from the wreckage. The girl gets to know the old guy in the hospital as he recovers and he reflects back on a past love. Cue endless flashbacks to the old days, with Jack Huston as young Ira and Oona Chaplin as his love Ruth.

Everyone is lovely. It’s all heroes and heroine, and no villains. Everyone ends up living happily ever after. It’s an old-fashioned, heart-warming movie world. There’s a place for films like these, though this one won’t be to everyone’s taste. It’s kind of sweet, though, in a way. If only the world were actually like this. Well that’s the whole point of this 130 minutes of escapism from horrible daily reality, of course.

All five ideally cast main actors give very classy performances against the glossy backdrops, filmed in glorious-looking North Carolina.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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