What would you do if your spouse didn’t remember you? How far would you go to fight for your love? When would you realize you needed to let them go? “The Vow” answers these questions.
“The Vow” begins with Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum) leaving a movie theater and driving home. It’s a quick snap shot of their everyday life, before a truck rear ends their car and Paige flies through the windshield. Paige suffered brain damage and amnesia. She lost the past four years of her life, and, consequently, any memory of Leo. The movie follows them on their journey of loss, as Leo fights for his wife and waits for her to remember him.
“The Vow” was inspired by a true story and that hint of realism made the plot so unique. I realize McAdams’ character fell in love with a “poor guy” that her rich family doesn’t approve of (hint: “The Notebook”), but the movie asked tough questions about love. How would you react if the person you vowed to be with for the rest of your life interacted with you like you were a stranger? The movie addresses the age-old vows: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health, to love and to cherish ‘till death do us part. Leo, and the man the movie was inspired by, took those vows seriously. He stood by his wife even when she mentally wasn’t his wife.
There are many people who think Tatum is the male version of Kristin Stewart (because he can only show one emotion), but in this film he played the heart broken husband very well. I know this because I constantly felt frustrated for him during the movie. Leo’s love and adoration for his wife was so obvious that it hurt me when she freaked out after he tickled her (something he did before the accident to help her relax). All I wanted was for Paige to remember her vows to Leo, her life with Leo and her love for Leo.
McAdams, as always, was wonderful to watch, especially because she took on two roles: her life before the accident and her life after. McAdams played the girl who was hopelessly in love with her husband and the girl who didn’t know her husband at all. For most of the movie, she was trying to figure out who she was. McAdams embraced the emotional toll amnesia would bring to a person. Because Leo and her life with him was like reading someone else’s diary, Paige was overwhelmed, scared and confused. She couldn’t embrace her married life with open arms, and McAdams made that struggle apparent. She wanted to love like Leo loved her, but she had forgotten how.
This movie, like most in its category, will never be up for an Academy Award. It won’t be acknowledged for its acting, script or soundtrack. It’s advertised to girls who like cheesy, romantic dramas. However, this movie is so much more than entertainment. It asks couples: to what lengths they would go to save their relationship, how much they love the person they’re with, and (for married couples) how true were their vows.
The situation that happened in “The Vow” between this husband and wife is unimaginable. They had to answer how serious they were about their commitment to each other. I can’t tell you if their love beat all odds, but I can tell you, the film answers this question.
