‘The Longest Ride’: Film Review (2024)

When it comes to Nicholas Sparks, you’re either up for the ride oryou’re not. If you are, you’re part of a Middle American fan club thathas supported nine schmaltzy, formulaic, achingly sincere filmadaptations of the novelist’s books to the cumulative box office tuneof about $750,000,000. If you’re not, well, The Longest Ride will feellike one of the longest 128 minutes of your life. Old-fashioned in allthe most tedious ways, this by-the-numbers romance between oddlymismatched lovers plods along in a way that will nonetheless providethe cinematic equivalent of an agreeable airplane novel read for thealready converted.

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What’s most strange here is how Sparks, in a calculated attempt tolink people from very different worlds, offers up social backgroundsfor them that simply don’t mix at all — modern Southern college sororitylife, the circumstances for World War II Jewish refugees, enclaves ofmodern art a half-century ago and today and, per the title, the good-ol’-boy milieu of professional bull riding. On top of that, no matterwhat crises may arise (and they are numerous), everyone is alwaysperfectly attired and surrounded by pristine North Carolina settingsin which no blade of grass is ever out of place.

The pretty couple at the center of things has modern cowboy Luke(Scott Eastwood), comeback-minded after having been violently thrownby a mighty mean bull named Rango, pursuing a very gentlemanlycourtship of Wake Forest college senior Sophia (Britt Robertson)shortly before she’s due to move to New York for a high-end artgallery internship. Luke’s the sort to tote flowers when he shows upfor their first date (“Call me old-school,” he bashfully intones),while Sophia is mentally already half-way out the school door on theway to her big-city future.

But fate intervenes, as it has a habit of doing, when the couplerescue an old man from a car accident on a dark rainy night and takehim to a hospital. While he recovers, genial old gent Ira Levinson(Alan Alda) allows Sophia to read aloud to him from old letters thatrecount his poignant relationship with his beloved late wife, Ruth. Soeven as it’s not explained why so many letters were written when, infact, Ira and Ruth were in the same place most of the time back in theearly 1940s, we see extended flashbacks of the newly arrived AustrianRuth (Oona Chaplin), a vivacious, forthright, immaculately attiredyoung woman, capturing the heart of the pleasant looking butexceedingly placid Ira (Jack Huston, bearing absolutely no resemblanceto Alda, young or old).

The couple’s many trials and tribulations, notably including Ira’sJake Barnes-like war injury that prevents him from giving Ruth thechildren she craves and their failure to adopt a parentless hillbillyboy who shows intellectual promise, simply serve to demonstrate howfew obstacles Luke and Sophia face compared to theirs. But moredirectly, Ruth’s passion for modern art fostered at the (real)progressive Black Mountain College in North Carolina feeds oh-soconveniently into Sophia’s career interests, while also providing thespringboard for one of the most outrageously preposterous surpriseendings in recent movies.

Leaving his career origins in Soul Food and the Barbershop series(which he produced) very far behind indeed, director George TillmanJr. indulges, nay, embraces the sanitized banality of Sparks’ worldwith a straight face. Just as the basic plot points are hard toswallow, even the most rudimentary aspects of the characters’interactions feel forced, artificial and unspontaneous. A significantpart of the interest here surely lies in the film’s role as a showcasefor four just moderately known young actors. Robertson, who co-starsin the highly anticipated, about-to-arrive Tomorrowland, often seemsto have a bridle on here, keen to impart some spontaneity that’s beingkept in check. Eastwood, in his first significant starring role afterseveral supporting gigs, most recently in Fury, certainly resembleshis dad both physically and in his inclination for minimal dialogue;he’s easy on the eyes and comfortably inhabits a Western-stylecharacter, but his potential remains to be determined.

Curiously, the couple from 70-odd years ago has been cast withgrandchildren of Hollywood luminaries from that period. Hustondisplays none of the gumption associated with his director grandfatherJohn or the latter’s thespian offspring. By contrast, Chaplin,granddaughter of Charles, daughter of actress Geraldine and namesakeof her grandmother, is the sole younger actor to pop here; playing theonly one of the youthful characters with any boldness or inclination to speak her own mind, the unconventional-lookingperformer comes off as assertive, driven and appealing in anidiosyncratic manner.

But providing the film with whatever emotional grounding it can claimis Alda. Restricted almost exclusively to a hospital bed, the79-year-old actor makes the canned sentimentality of his 91-year-oldcharacter go down quite easily as he comments to Sophia about thevicissitudes of his life.

The settings and compositions are picture-postcard, the score syrupy,the bull-riding coverage not entirely convincing, the sentimentscliched and reassuring. But, boy oh boy, the ending! In Sparks’ world,when happiness rains, it pours.

Production: Fox 2000 Pictures, Temple Hill, Nicholas Sparks Productions

Cast: Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin, AlanAlda, Lolita Davidovich, Melissa Benoist, Gloria Reuben

Director: George Tillman Jr.

Screenwriter: Craig Bolotin, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks

Producers: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Nicholas Sparks, Theresa Park

Executive producers: Michele Imperato Stabile, Robert Teitel, Tracey Nyberg

Director of photography: David Tattersall

Production designer: Mark Garner

Costume designer: Mary Claire Hannan

Editor: Jason Ballantine

Music: Mark Isham

Casting: Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham

PG-13 rating, 128 minutes

‘The Longest Ride’: Film Review (2024)

FAQs

What is the message of The Longest Ride? ›

The Longest Ride examines specifically how opposites attract. Sparks uses two couples to explore the dynamics between people motivated only by a mystically powerful attraction to be together. Can they find their way to the comfort, stability, and consolation of emotional commitment? Defying the odds, they do.

Is The Longest Ride worth watching? ›

Critics Reviews

Unfortunately, Chaplin's brilliance, Alda's funny crustiness, and Eastwood's vulnerability aren't enough to keep this film afloat. The Longest Ride is a weak sauce addition to the Sparks empire, a little better than last year's The Best of Me, but miles below uber-Sparks work The Notebook.

Is The Longest Ride based on a true story? ›

No, The Longest Ride is not officially based on a true story but there's a conversation surrounding a possible reference. The film is an adaption of Nicholas Sparks' eponymous novel, and as reports suggest, Herb and Dorothy Vogel are the real-life couple who served as an inspiration for the story.

Why did Ruth leave in The Longest Ride? ›

Following an argument, Luke and Sophia break up. In flashbacks, Ira and Ruth break up because she cannot see a life without children in their future. However, weeks later, Ruth returns as she cannot live without Ira. Decades later, now 80 years old, Ira wakes up to find Ruth has died in her sleep.

Why couldn t they have kids in The Longest Ride? ›

Due to the peritonitis it was likely he couldn't have children. Ira knew that having a child was something Ruth really wanted in the future and he didn't want to deprive her of that. He thought the right thing to do was to let her move on with someone that could give her exactly what she wanted.

Is The Longest Ride a sad ending? ›

There is a couple of sad parts, but for the most, it's a happy ending.

What is the summary of The Longest Ride? ›

Will The Longest Ride make me cry? ›

If you want a good cry, you may very well get your wish. The Longest Ride has some very sad moments so bring tissues. And if you want a good movie about bull riding, then this may be a good choice for you (because it's the only one out right now, I think).

Is The Longest Ride based on a book? ›

Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, THE LONGEST RIDE centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world.

Why couldn't Aria have kids in The Longest Ride? ›

They go through the standard Southern courtship (the movie is set in North Carolina), with the bombing of Pearl Harbor Ira's cue to enlist. While in battle, he suffers a severe wound. To make matters worse, he develops an infection which renders him sterile.

Did Scott Eastwood do his own stunts in The Longest Ride? ›

In The Longest Ride, based on the Nicholas Sparks' novel, Scott Eastwood plays a bull-riding champion, though the man himself didn't do his own stunts. He did, however, take it upon himself to ride a bull off set. Eastwood confirms this fact via Instagram, mentioning that he 'forgot' to tell the producers.

How old was Scott Eastwood in Longest Ride? ›

On a recent afternoon, the 29-year-old heartthrob barrels into a conference room at Twentieth Century Fox after a morning of press for his new movie, “The Longest Ride,” where he plays a bull-wrangling cowboy.

Do Luke and Sophie end up together? ›

A year later Luke and Sophia, now married, have built a museum dedicated to Ira and Ruth. Luke takes Sophia to the old college where Ira and Ruth used to spend their anniversary. He then starts to read one of Ira's letters. They live happily ever after.

What happens to Ira and Ruth in The Longest Ride? ›

Though it becomes difficult for Ruth to adjust to life with Ira afterward—she leaves him at one point—the two reconcile and have a wonderful relationship, until Ruth dies in her sleep of old age. Ira even keeps writing her love letters. After Ruth dies, a stranger comes to Ira's door with a present.

Where did they film The Longest Ride? ›

The Longest Ride is set in North Carolina, which features stunning countryside and vibrant communities. The film was shot in several well-known locations in North Carolina, including Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Asheville, and the Yadkin River Valley.

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