Purple Hearts Review: A Compelling Premise Is Undermined By Sappy Writing
Two persons work together to defraud the government of extra money and health insurance. They begin to fall in love while traveling. The hoax can't last forever, but in the end, the benefit outweighs the risk by a wide margin. With the help of this elevator pitch, it is simple to understand how a simple idea can result in a swoon-worthy romantic epic or a sentimental romantic comedy. Unfortunately, Liz W. Garcia and Kyle Jarrow's screenplay for the Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum-helmed film Purple Hearts does not manage to strike the right balance between the two.
Luke Morrow (Nicholas Galitzine) and Cassie Salazar (Sofia Carson) are two very dissimilar people. Cassie works as a bartender but wants to pursue music full-time. According to the Marines who visit her pub, she is a snarky, man-hating feminist with a lot to say about the American government. Luke is a former juvenile offender turned marine who lacks critical thinking skills. The two, who don't get along, decide to get married for the military advantages because they are in a tough situation in their personal life. While Cassie keeps up with her burgeoning music career, Luke is sent to iraq to defend America's misguided freedom.
The characters are also inadequately developed, with Cassie first coming across as a likeable lead who is aware of the problems that plague the military. After being sexually assaulted at work, she is able to resist being charmed by Luke's efforts to appease her – the exact opposite of a meet-cute. A movie can be made out of Cassie's struggle to survive in a society that treats her like a second-class citizen and is murdering her by caving in to medical corporations. Although it would be upsetting and unsettling, spectators would ultimately support her determination to succeed.
Purple Hearts, despite its flaws, shines under Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's direction in one area. The film is beautiful and successfully conveys the mood that the screenplay of the film tries so hard to create. Purple Hearts can't get by, though, only on presentation. The whole project is undermined by our incapacity to understand its concepts and characters. The opening act of Purple Hearts has a lot of promise, but it leans too heavily on sentimentality, using narrative devices meant to make the audience cry and distract them from thinking.