All week I'd been waiting for this movie for two reasons. 1 - I've come to expect that network showing it, HMM, has Christmas movies that are not just romance, but some of the best Christmas movies I love because the stories are heartwarming. 2 - Erin Cahill is one of my all-time favorite actors in this genre.
Real spoilers ahead.
I'm having a hard time working through why this movie left me completely disappointed. For one thing, well into the movie I started thinking "this story can't end happily". Someone is going to lose out. Pierce is a really great guy. While he said the right things to Danielle, you know he couldn't let go of everything that easily. He was bowing out for her sake. I wish they would have made Pierce a jerk at least on some level. Then I think I could have see things exclusively from Danielle's level.
Then as the story tells it Colby has been a POW for years. You can say that memories of your family see you through those tough times, but those times aren't tough. They are brutal to the point of impossible. I can't help but think of Homeland. That POW came back deeply scarred and that has to be the norm. Colby is not the same man Danielle loved. Yet in the last few scenes he acts so nonchalant like he had only been gone a few weeks.
Even ignoring Colby's unrealistically good physical and mental health (notice how vigorous he looks), the ending is way too good to be true. It's not just sappy. It's cheesy.
Real spoilers ahead.
I'm having a hard time working through why this movie left me completely disappointed. For one thing, well into the movie I started thinking "this story can't end happily". Someone is going to lose out. Pierce is a really great guy. While he said the right things to Danielle, you know he couldn't let go of everything that easily. He was bowing out for her sake. I wish they would have made Pierce a jerk at least on some level. Then I think I could have see things exclusively from Danielle's level.
Then as the story tells it Colby has been a POW for years. You can say that memories of your family see you through those tough times, but those times aren't tough. They are brutal to the point of impossible. I can't help but think of Homeland. That POW came back deeply scarred and that has to be the norm. Colby is not the same man Danielle loved. Yet in the last few scenes he acts so nonchalant like he had only been gone a few weeks.
Even ignoring Colby's unrealistically good physical and mental health (notice how vigorous he looks), the ending is way too good to be true. It's not just sappy. It's cheesy.