Dear+John

=  Dear John = = Book By: Nicholas Sparks = =Movie Directed by Lasse Hallstrom = = Project By: Olivia Cicalis =

"Our story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. And although this is the way all stories unfold, I still can't believe that ours didn't go on forever."
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks is a romance novel about John Tyree, a rough and rugged soldier who joins the army after not knowing what else to do. While on leave in North Carolina he meets Savannah, a girl with charm and eloquence. As they grow closer they realize that it isn't just another summer fling and promise to say together while John is in the army. They decide to write letters back and forth to keep in touch until John's tour is over. After 9/11 John must decide to re-up and serve his county or abandon his squad and go back to Savannah. Which will John choose and will the love between John and Savannah last?

John Tyree- Played by Channing Tatum and I think they did an excellent job casting him. In the book he is described to be fit, rugged and tough with tattoos and a crew cut. Channing Tatum fits this description well though he didn't have any tattoos in the movie. Tatum did a really good job showing both the strong and sensitive sides of John. Savannah Curtis- Played by Amanda Seyfried and I think she didn't exactly look the part of Savannah that I had pictured in my head as I read the book. In the book, Savannah is a brunette with a slight gap in her teeth and a twang in her voice. The movie shows her being blond with no twang in her voice or gap in her teeth. Amanda did a relatively good job with the character and didn't make it to sappy or unrealistic. Mr.Tyree- Played by Richard Jenkins did an excellent job of portraying John's father. He really fit the part of John's dad, and and in my opinion looked most realistic to the Mr.Tyree in the book. Mr. Tyree was socially awkward and could only talk about coins without getting nervous and Jenkins made the audience feel for him and played a very realistic role. Tim Wheddon- Played by Henry Thomas doesn't really fit the part too well. He is a little too old and is portrayed as being the father of Alan. In the book Alan is his brother which is probably why I pictured Tim to be younger. Thomas did do a good job showing how Tim was so honest and likable.
 * Casting/Acting **

**Narration** The story is narrated through John and is in the first person. He is looking back on what happend between himself and Savannah in the first and last chapters but the rest of the story is told through the eyes of John. This is kept the same in the movie. In the book its sort of like you are inside John's head so you know what he is thinking at different times. In the movie you know what John is thinking when it is sort of an overlay as the people on the screen are not talking but you hear his voice telling his thoughts. Throughout the movie you are mostly watching the relationship unfold without really knowing what the characters are thinking other than from what they say.The one thing I liked about the movie's narration was when it came to the letters sent between John and Savannah they had the voice of one of them read it as the other went on with their daily lives, John in Iraq and at the army base and Savannah in classrooms at school. It really showed how they were dealing with the separation while they were apart. The reading of the letters between them also seemed to speed up the time that went by as John was finishing his duties in Iraq. I think the movie focused more on the letters written between John and Savannah than the book which I liked because it lent itself to the tittle of the movie better.

Cutting- The editors and script writers did change the movie from the book. One instance is that John goes to stay with Savannah in her own apartment and they don't really show this section of the book where the once hopeful and loving relationship is becoming harder and putting a strain on both John and Savannah. This is where Savannah opens up to John about how hard it was being without him and how she has been really upset throughout their time apart. They also took out the time John and his Dad spent together before his Dad dies. I think this is very important to the book because it shows how the relationship between John and his dad grows stronger because John finally excepts his dad and they talk about the one thing Mr.Tyree can talk about, coins.The endings of the two are very different and I liked the ending of the book better because it isn't what you would expect from the classic ending where everyone lives happily ever after.
 * Cutting, Adding, Resequencing **

Adding- The writers also added a small plot line between Alan and Tim. In the book, Savannah grows up being neighbors with Tim whose brother is Alan. Once John decides to re-up after 9-11 Savannah is really upset and at the same time, Tim's parents die in a sudden car crash. While both Savannah and Tim are grieving they fall in love. In the movie however Alan is Tim's son and like John his mother walked out on him. John goes on to say that Tim should be honest with Alan and tell him that his mother won't come back because in John's childhood he spent 15 years waiting for his mom and he was just disappointed when he finally realized she wasn't coming. The movie also added a scene where Mr.Tyree was going to meet Savannah's parents with John and Savannah but he got to scared and had a sort of panic attack on the way there and wanted to go back home. This just is another example of how John's dad dislikes a change in routine and might have Asperger's Syndrome. I'm not too sure this really added to the movie at all other than showing how John's dad reacts to a change and how John is annoyed by how his father acts.

Resequencing-Not a lot of scenes were resequenced in any way. The only thing was that John had promised Savannah to take her out surfing after their first meeting, so going surfing was their second date. In the movie they go surfing later on. In the film, Savannah meets John's dad on the second date and in the book it was later on in their relationship but Hollywood did this to keep the movie going without being too long.

In comparison I would probably read the book rather than see the movie. I say this because the endings of the movie and book are completely different and the ending in the book has a less Hollywood happy ever after feel to it. The book goes deeper into the relationship between Savannah and John and the relationship between John and his Dad. The book goes into more detail of how they first fell in love and the time they spent together while John was on leave. I think the movie does do a good job showing the scenes from when John was in the army, and the fighting scenes were very realistic. I felt that the book didn't go into as much detail in those areas than the movie. I think the Novel focuses on the bond between John and Mr.Tyree more than the movie does, which I liked because it was interesting to see it change. I honestly liked both the book and the movie but if I had to choose one I would choose the book, because the ending isn't what you would necessarily expect.
 * Book vs Movie **