DVD Review - The Choice (2016)

Nicholas Sparks, bestselling author of The Notebook, Dear John, and most recently The Best of Me, once again brings that old charm of a romantic story he writes so well. This time in the form of The Choice, a film which centers around two neighbors. Travis (Benjamin Walker) a young veteran committed to no strings attached flings, and Gabby (Teresa Palmer) a medical student who are thrown together in an unlikely relationship when her dog gets pregnant by his dog.

The initial meeting of these two people is an obvious one in true Nicholas Sparks’s fashion. They don’t get on but as they spend more time together whilst Gabby’s boyfriend and fellow doctor Ryan (Tom Welling) is away, a relationship begins to form, forcing both Gabby and Travis to make choices as the film progresses.

Beautifully directed by Ross Katz including what can only be described as typical Nicholas Sparks scenes, sunsets on boats, a famous love scene, amongst one or various set in hospital, its what he is known for, and what he does best.

Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer give good performances as the two leads. Unfortunately though it doesn’t prove enough to watch again. It doesn’t pull at your heartstrings and make you cry buckets like the Notebook, which I feel is what a Nicholas Sparks film is meant to do. Perhaps it is all becoming a bit repetitive knowing what to expect when you watch a film adapted from one of his books, however, it usually works in his favour. Not this time unfortunately.