Nicholas Sparks has become a household name all over the
country. He is known for writing some of
the most moving stories about love and life.
Yes love, it seems so cliché nowadays.
The perception of love in modern society has been skewed in our minds to
being impossible to find or just a journey of constant heartbreak. For many of us though, this perception seems
about right. However, when I watch one
of his films or read his books, I find myself in awe of the beautiful writing
and characters that keep me locked in the moments of what we all wish to
experience one day. His most famous
books to date are The Notebook, A Walk to
Remember, Dear John, The Lucky One, Safe Haven, and The Last Song. Having seen all of them, I have found
myself asking what it is about his works that make such an impact on myself and
others that other movies in particular do not.
So in asking that question, I have broken it down into two reasons
of why Nicholas Sparks’ movies are so successful.
The Main Characters & Actors
To state
the obvious, EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL! You have Ryan Gossling and Rachel McAdams
in The Notebook, Shane West and Mandy
Moore in A Walk to Remember, Channing
Tatum and Amanda Seyfried in Dear John,
Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling in The
Lucky One, Josh Duhmel and Julianne Hough in Safe Haven, and Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus in The Last Song. Woah! Im not sure I know too many people who don’t fantasize
about at least one of these actors or actresses frequently which only adds to
the impact of the story but of course doesn’t make it. The characters that each actor or actress
plays seem to hold the perfect qualities in a human that every girl or boy
wishes they could find. Though maybe not from the start, eventually they evolve
and build our likeness for the person more and more throughout the movie. They help us get lost in their emotions and
draw us into their situations so it’s as if we are there. They seem to represent something we want so
badly in our lives personally and makes us feel like it is in arms reach.
Also, not only does he create these beautiful characters
that we cant help but love, he creates characters that we cant help but hate or
make us sad or mad. Whether the character is
sick, dying, abusive, or you name it, they become this barrier that must be
broken down and creates a struggle not only for the characters in the film but
also for the audience. Our connections
with these characters make us feel protective of them. Emotions suddenly start
building as soon as things don’t go the way we want which brings us on the love
journey in the first place.
The Plotline
After
reading several of Nicholas Sparks’ books and watching just about every single
movie, of which many he wrote and produced himself as well, I have realized
that most of his stories are based on a similar storyline. There are the two characters who want to be
with one another however, someone or something gets in the way. Yes sounds like
any other love story, yet each story has these hidden meanings that we don’t
initially catch from the beginning that surprise us in the end. Nicholas Sparks
has mastered the skill of portraying a scene in such a way that he convinces us
that we know what is going to happen and in the end then proves us wrong. Theres the first meeting, then the connection,
the conflict, the surprise, then the ending, and a lot more in between.
Nicholas Sparks’ ability to write great characters and stories
that resonate to many lives is the reason why I believe he is so successful.
