Caroline Friday is a novelist and award winning screenwriter with several film projects in development for both television and theatrical distribution. She is also a 2008 Kairos Screenwriting Winner for spiritually uplifting screenplays, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. Caroline currently serves as EVP of Sixth Day Media, LLC, a film finance and production company headquartered in the Atlanta area. She lives in Marietta, Georgia, with her husband and three children and can be found at www.carolinefriday.com.

For those who loved The Notebook, The Vow is an opportunity to see Hollywood sweetheart Rachel McAdams in another tale of ill-fated lovers whose relationship prevails despite overwhelming obstacles. Paired with Channing Tatum (who is very different from Ryan Gosling in The Notebook but still very appealing), sparks fly between the two, which provides for a very satisfying romantic tale. McAdams is cute and perky as always, and Tatum shows he has quite a range, being able to play the romantic lead as well as he plays the Hollywood tough guy or the crazy comedian (see The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn for a good laugh).

The story is loosely based on the real-life drama of Kim and Krickett Carpenter, whose love is put to the test when a horrible car accident leaves Krickett with significant memory loss. In the movie, McAdams plays Paige (the Krickett character), a newlywed who is madly in love with her husband, Leo. After a romantic evening, a freak collision sends Paige through the windshield and into the hospital where she remains for days in a coma. When she awakens, everyone—particularly Leo—is shocked to learn that she has no memory of the past five years. Leo is devastated that his wife has no knowledge of him or their marriage, but he is determined to bring her home and holds on to the hope that her memory will return. Her parents intervene and view this as the perfect opportunity to bring Paige back into their world and help her start her life over again—without Leo. That, coupled with the affections of Paige’s former fiancé, make life very difficult.

I saw this movie on Valentine’s Day with my husband and a theater full of other couples on a quest for romance. I think what makes this a great love story is that its overarching theme is the perseverance of the romantic hero in wooing and pursing his heroine. In this film, Leo must persevere against much opposition in holding fast to the hope that Paige will remember their love and treat him with the same passion and desire that she did the night before the collision. An ever-increasing amount of patience and tenacity is required on his part, as time spent away from work causes his business to suffer. Conniving in-laws seeking to bring Paige back to their home, and Paige’s frustrations in not being able to remember puts a strain on the marriage. Gone are the intimacy, trust, and friendship, leaving them nothing but Leo’s commitment to a woman who has forgotten him.

Temporarily, Paige gives in to her parents’ demands and toys with the idea of starting over—even considering law school—but something keeps her tied to Leo. She may not realize it, but Leo and the audience know it is the vow they made to each other years ago on their wedding day, written in their own words. But

eventually that isn’t enough to hold them together. The pressures from her old, affluent life, and the persistence of her wealthy fiancé bring Paige to the conclusion that she will never remember Leo, that she will never love him again, and that they should go their separate ways. Leo reluctantly receives the divorce papers, resists signing them, but then he eventually agrees. Even though he moves on with life, his heart is still devoted to Paige. This element of romance films is what we ladies love to see in a touching story—the hero/prince who will stop at nothing for his love/bride. Doesn’t that sound just like Jesus?

My favorite part of the film was the metaphor that ran throughout the movie, providing subtext for the development of the romance. Initially, Paige is introduced as a talented, well-known sculptor with a fabulous studio and a much-coveted assignment to design a piece for a building lobby. Frustrated with the development of the project, Paige marvels at the support Leo gives her. Even her pile of scrap plaster is beautiful to him and holds hidden meaning that even she, the artist cannot see. After the accident, this pile of scrap plaster sits outside their apartment by the trashcans, never being thrown away, yet waiting to come to life and be that object of beauty Leo had envisioned. What a perfect description of his character—even when their relationship is reduced to scraps and remnants of an old forgotten life, ready to be tossed out, he is willing to hang on and wait for meaning, purpose, and hope to be resurrected. Again I ask, doesn’t that sound just like Jesus?

**SPOILER ALERT**

If you are thinking this is a sad, melancholy story, don’t be fooled. The most exciting point in the movie is when a newly divorced Paige sits in a law school class, not taking notes but sketching the outline for the same sculpture she had abandoned before the accident. It is enough of a foreshadowing to let the audience know the relationship with Leo isn’t over. Paige leaves her parents’ world and returns to her old haunts she had frequented with Leo, reacquainting herself with the things she used to love, like ethnic foods, funky clothing, and avant garde art. The final scene has her bumping into Leo unexpectedly and agreeing to go to dinner with him at one their favorite restaurants. Serendipity leads to a new beginning for a couple whose souls never parted, despite their tragic, worldly circumstances. The audience is left knowing that Leo and Paige will be reunited.

I will certainly add The Vow to my personal romance film collection for that time when I want to curl up with my hubby and celebrate life’s greatest passion: a love that is meant to be—a love that lasts. It is a testimony to the power of marriage and the power of a vow made before God and others, a vow that mirrors the love between Jesus Christ and His church.