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Nicholas Sparks's latest love story 'The Choice' comes to theaters

Nicholas Sparks's latest love story 'The Choice' comes to theaters

Still of Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer in "The Choice" (2016).

Still of Benjamin Walker and Teresa Palmer in "The Choice" (2016).


One choice could change everything, a single decision could alter the entire course of your life. In the movie, “The Choice,” the audience follows two characters through their lives, able to see where Travis and Gabby's choices may lead them.

Nicholas Sparks, author and producer of “The Choice,” is known for never guaranteeing a happy ending in his work. However, audiences are able to empathize with the emotional ups and downs of the character's lives in each of his story lines. Sparks put special emphasis on the fact that his work is not simple, Cinderella-esque fantasy, but a love story with plots that will not end happily every time. 

“The purpose of (the genre) is to move the reader or the viewer through all of the emotions of life to make it feel real,” Sparks said.

Benjamin Walker was cast as Travis, the lead male character whose magnetic personality makes him seem like a friend the audience would want to have in real life. He plays a veterinarian who lives the life of a confident bachelor and seems to be content with this lifestyle. He has a close circle of family and friends, and he seems to have it all together. That is until his new neighbor flips his world upside down.

This is not an easy love story. Travis has no complaints about life, and he is more or less happy with an on-and-off relationship he has with a woman named Monica (Alexandra Daddario). Things are drumming along fine until he meets Gabby (Teresa Palmer), his resisting love interest.

It is clear that Gabby feels a pull toward Travis from the very beginning, but she is highly motivated and has a life plan that does not factor him in. She is studying while completing her residency at a local hospital and dating a doctor named Ryan, until Travis comes along and puts a kink in all of her plans.

Sparks said the energy between the actors that play Gabby and Travis was evident.

“Teresa has one of those personalities that draws everyone in — so does Ben in fact," he said.  "So what they had was just magnetic even in the read.  When we put them on screen and put them on the big picture it comes across as being incredible.”

Monica is to Travis what Ryan is to Gabby: the other choice. Ryan really cares about Gabby throughout their relationship, but neither Monica or Ryan are easy to forget. The choice is not an easy one for either Travis or Gabby because to have what they want, they must sacrifice a part of their lives. It all comes down to whether they believe the sacrifice is worth the love of a lifetime.

"Choose your struggles wisely, because how you choose to suffer will largely define the life you live," Sparks said.

The chemistry between the two is undeniable, and each character has such a friendly persona that you almost feel as if you know them personally, as seen in the middle of the script once the two become friends. Travis’ group of friends that Gabby soon infiltrates is warm and close. These are people that you might run into walking down the beach one day — they are authentic characters.

Sparks based the character Travis off someone close to him in his own life — his brother. However, he said that the relationship between Travis and his sister resembles Sparks' own life with his siblings. 

Travis’s sister, Steph, seems to have it all together and does not mind urging and advising her brother. The relationship is almost as beautiful as the obvious love story between Travis and Gabby. It reminds you that family will always be there for you, even when your choices fail you.

"I had parents who really stressed the fact that your siblings will always be around." Sparks said. "Your friends will come and go, but your family is there forever."

This script will take you through the happy times as well as through the pitfalls. We get to see a relationship evolve, and we fall in love along with Travis and Gabby. The audience will laugh together at the light humor, smile together at the happy moments, cry together at the tough choices and hope together for that happy ending.

A literal change in the weather represents an emotional change of pace in the movie. The beginning is filled with sunshine, and toward the end the weather turns for the worse. It leaves the audience wondering throughout the whole movie if the sun comes out in the end. 

The choice to see this movie is up to you. 


Reach the reporter at ndusanek@asu.edu or follow @NikkiDusanek on Twitter

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