A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
It's as though the filmmakers lacked the confidence to stick with the basic story, which served every element needed in a Sparks-infused guilty pleasure.
– Michael Granberry,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb 2013
rotten:
Plods along with dialogue just above the level of crayon scribblings, and the direction by the usually reliable Lasse Hallstrom is dismayingly sluggish.
– Rex Reed,
New York Observer,
20 Feb 2013
rotten:
[The] final reel ... descends into the Vortex of Bonkers, delivering fits of unexpected laughter.
– Trevor Johnston,
Time Out,
26 Feb 2013
rotten:
Keeping up with the movie's inane plot twists makes for a capricious good time, but an unimaginative denouement turns the whole thing into a fool's errand.
– Drew Hunt,
Chicago Reader,
7 Mar 2013
rotten:
A movie whose punch line is so delightfully absurd that even after you pretty much know what's coming you spit out your Pepsi anyway.