In a crucial moment in Endless Love, the teenage hero of the film tells his new paramour that they don't have to have sex now. He's willing to wait. It's a sweet sentiment, but it's one that undermines the overall feeling of the film. The film presents the audience with a saint of a boyfriend, a guy that most parents would dream of. And yet he spends the movie struggling to gain the acceptance of his girlfriend's father. That's not much of a story, the film hinging entirely on the whims of a completely inhuman character.
Jade (Gabriella Wilde), mourning the death of her brother, went through high school without making any friends. David (Alex Pettyfer) spent high school watching Jade, never working up the courage to actually talk to her. The two finally make contact shortly after graduation, and promptly fall in love. But the two are from completely different worlds, and Jade's father doesn't approve of David. He conspires to keep the two apart, even at the cost of his own family.
The film never really casts any doubt on the viability of the central relationship. David might not be refined or whatever, but he's essentially a saint. After a brief bit of mischief at the start of the movie, he never becomes the instigator again. And this is a problem. In much the same way that David is faultless, Jade's father Hugh (Bruce Greenwood) becomes a cartoonish depiction of the evil, overbearing father. The movie goes overboard on selling the relationship, making the story feel lopsided.
It is believable enough that Hugh would disapprove of David at first, but his continued distrust becomes a real narrative strain as David continues to prove to be the perfect boyfriend. The movie doubles down with every scene, making Hugh more and more of a monster. It goes so far that it undermines the inevitable redemption. The film would have benefitted from just the slightest hint of danger coming from David. Danger is what makes teenage romances compelling; the sense that these hormonal kids are still capable of making really bad decisions.
We need to feel at least a little bit conflicted about that romance. The film just makes no effort to make the dad's mistrust relatable, and that robs the film of all its tension. The actors are really hobbled by the film's limited world view. The great Bruce Greenwood tries everything he can, but the character as written is far too unreasonable. Gabriella Wilde and Alex Pettyfer make for a nice enough couple, though Pettyfer might have physically gotten too big to play a teenager.
Endless Love is just too tame to be interesting. The 1983 movie was not perfect either, but its harder edge made it far more compelling. This film offers up no real conflict. We all know about a third of the way in that David is the best thing that's ever happened to Jade. About halfway through, we know that he's the best thing that's ever going to happen to her. There isn't the slightest bit of doubt that her father is just plain wrong. In the absence of doubt, there is no tension. There’s nothing left to look forward to. The film becomes waiting for an old man to come around. Young love ought to be more immediate than that.
My Rating:
