With very little
resemblance to either the book by Scott Spencer or the oddly disturbed 1981
Franco Zeffirelli version, Shana Feste’s Endless
Love is terrible and contrived in its own unique ways. Then again, even
using the word “unique” to describe the awfulness of this film is an unearned
and inaccurate sentiment. Every moment of Endless
Love which comes even close to working is merely the shadow of a copy of an
imitation of many much better films. This is a film that will only work for
ignorant audience members unfamiliar with love or even its representation on
film. In other words, this is a movie made for fourteen-year-old girls,
destined to give them false impressions about what real love actually looks
like. News flash for Feste; love does not resemble a 105-minute commercial.
Next time try giving us some semblance of character development and realistic
conflicts rather than contrived scenarios involving vapid models standing in as
actors.
Clearly cashing
in on the endless onslaught of moderately successful Nicholas Sparks
adaptations, churned out like a production line each year, Endless Love also has a storyline devastatingly close to one of the
best romantic comedies ever made; Say
Anything. To say that this film borrows the best elements from The Notebook and Cameron Crowe’s debut
feature may lead readers to the incorrect conclusion that there are elements of
Endless Love which work, however
derivative they may be. This would be a completely false assumption. The only
thing that Endless Love does by
borrowing from better film is destroy the validity of the narratives. Endless Love lacks any realism, romance,
or reasons for recommendation.
The superficial
romance at the center of the film begins when rich and beautiful high school
recluse Jade (Gabriella Wilde) meets a boy from the other side of the tracks.
David (Alex Pettyfer) isn’t necessarily poor, but he works as a valet at the
country club that Jade’s pretentious family are members of and has no plans to
attend college. He doesn’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process
anything as a career… Wait, no. That’s Lloyd Dobbler. Whatever. David gives
some type of speech to Jade’s father about love. The bottom line is that he is
happy working as a mechanic in his father’s garage, despite an unrealistically
high S.A.T. score to rival the rebellious attitude that attracts Jade to him.
I’ve talked a
lot about what the film does wrong (and have plenty more to go in my arsenal of
insults), which has left little room for discussion of plot. This is mostly due
to the fact that the film lacks any clear conflict beyond the contrived
star-crossed lover storyline evolved from David’s meager background and Jade’s
controlling father, played by Bruce Greenwood. This terrible plot point drives
the film through each contrived melodramatic plot point, whether it is a car
crash, fire, or police chase. I could very easily criticize the unrealistically
written role of the villainous father, but it is only the actors playing the parents
who seem to hold their weight in the performances of the film. Robert Patrick
has an easier job playing the overly understanding father of David, contrasting
Jade’s unrealistically snob of a parent. The rest of the cast may as well be
cutouts for all of the personality that they bring to the roles.
The biggest
disaster in the film is the casting of Pettyfer and Wilde, two actors who have
built a career around their looks without any need or opportunity to develop
any talent. Pettyfer has starred in many ill-received films directed at
ignorant young ticket-buyers, from I Am Number Four to Beastly, never making
much impression beyond his physique and soulful gazes that seem better suited
for a Vanity Fair photo shoot than any cinematic storytelling. Wilde is even
worse, having begun her career as a model and never truly brought anything
beyond that two-dimensional posing to her acting career. Doing little other
than look pretty in this film, it is difficult to understand what she brings to
the character of Jade. There is no indication of what David loves about her
beyond the make-out sessions and the urgent rush to have sex without the pesky
need to get to know each other. Sure, Jade is beautiful, but she also has about
as much personality and maturity as a wind-up toy. It is entirely possible that
Wilde has some talent hidden somewhere unseen, but as long as she continues to
be cast for looks alone, there will never be any pressure for her to develop
it.
The Blu-ray release includes an exclusive
extended ending, for those of you who enjoy being angered by shitty filmmaking
for lengthier periods. There are also a handful of exclusive deleted, extended,
and alternate scenes, and a making-of featurette included on both the DVD and
Blu-ray disc. The combo pack has the high definition presentation of Blu-ray,
standard DVD, and a digital HD Ultraviolet copy.
Entertainment Value:
6.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 1/10
Historical
Significance: 2.5/10
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