A Walk to Remember is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel of the same name.
It stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote and Daryl Hannah, and was produced by Denise Di Novi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros. Pictures.
This film was shot from April to May of 2001 for nearly 40 days in Wilmington, North Carolina, with many of the sets borrowed from the television series Dawson's Creek.
The film, like the book, is dedicated to the memory of Sparks's sister, Danielle, whose cancer-afflicted life inspired the story.
In North Carolina, popular and rebellious teenager Landon Carter and his friends leave evidence of underage drinking on school grounds and severely injure another student as the result of a prank.
Jamie continues to avoid him until he gives her a new sweater as a peace offering, and Landon defends her after his friends play a cruel prank on her by photoshopping her head onto the body of a prostitute.
On their first date, Landon helps Jamie fulfill her list of things she wants to achieve, such as being in two places at once and getting a tattoo.
In a speech he gave after her death in Berlin, the author admits that "In many ways, Jamie Sullivan was my younger sister".
[5] Daryl Hannah, who wore a brown wig as her character, had received a collagen injection in her lips, which went awry and caused noticeable swelling.
He described his choice as "an instinct" he had about West, who would appear in almost every scene and had "to be either incredibly angry and self-hating or madly in love and heroic.
[7] Moore explained that she was moved by the book: "I had such a visceral reaction to it that I remember not being able to read because I was almost hyperventilating while I was crying."
Sparks says that he had written the book knowing she would die, yet had "grown to love Jamie Sullivan", and so opted for "the solution that best described the exact feeling I had with regard to my sister at that point: namely, that I hoped she would live.
"[10] The film's soundtrack was released by Moore's first label Epic Records and Sony Music Soundtrax on January 15, 2002.
[3][12] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12,177,488, finishing third at the box office behind Black Hawk Down ($17,012,268) and Snow Dogs ($13,079,373).
The site's critical consensus says: "Though wholesome, the Mandy Moore vehicle A Walk to Remember is also bland and oppressively syrupy.
[16] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote: "If you can't see everything in this film coming from a mile away, then you really need to get out more.
Joe Leydon of Variety wrote: "As Carter, Shane West makes an appealingly persuasive transition from embittered cynic to earnest romantic.
Moore, looking a bit like Phoebe Cates' kid sister, does a fine job of conveying Jamie's strong religious convictions as one of many admirable elements in young woman's personality.
[...] As lead characters discuss their faith—or, in Carter's case, the lack thereof—actors are able to make those conversations sound perfectly natural, enabling pic to avoid any trace of overt preachiness.
"[20] Chicago Sun-Times' film critic Roger Ebert praised Moore and West for their "quietly convincing" acting performances.
[22] The San Francisco Chronicle reviewer Octavio Roca found the film "entertaining" and wrote: "The picture is shamelessly manipulative, but in the best melodramatic sense.
[29] In the HBO television series Entourage, the character of Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier) was credited as having a small supporting role in the film.