Endless Love (2014 film)


Endless Love is a 2014 American romantic drama film directed by Shana Feste and co-written by Feste with Joshua Safran. A second adaptation of Scott Spencer's novel, the film stars Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce Greenwood, Joely Richardson, and Robert Patrick.
The film was released on February 14, 2014 by Universal Pictures in the US and UK, and on February 13, 2014 in Australia.

Plot

Reserved, lovely 17-year-old Jade graduates from high school with an impressive college scholarship but few friends, having focused on her studies rather than a social life. David, another graduating senior, has had a crush on her for years but never acted on it.
Hoping to make some summer memories, Jade asks her parents, Hugh and Anne, for a graduation party. She invites the entire class, including David. The two hit it off and are caught fooling around in a closet during the party. Hugh worries that David's impulsive and carefree nature will adversely affect his daughter, who is preparing to leave for a medical-school internship.
David, who works at his widower-father Harry's garage, tries to please Hugh by fixing a car which belonged to Jade's brother Chris who died of cancer years ago. Ironically, Hugh is the only one not pleased by David's gesture. Late that night, Jade invites David into her family's study where - at her own urging - they make love. The two strive to make the most of the ten days she has left at home. Ultimately, Jade opts to decline the internship and spend the rest of the summer with David...which infuriates Hugh. Later, Jade invites David to accompany the family to their lake house; he is welcomed with open arms by everybody except Hugh, whom Anne urges to give David a chance. Anne points out that Jade seems truly happy for the first time since Chris passed away.
One night, David sees Hugh cheating on Anne with another woman; the next morning Hugh intimidates David into keeping quiet about the affair. David and Jade, along with Jade's brother Keith and his girlfriend Sabine, sneak into a local zoo after-hours for a night of fun. Jenny, David's jealous ex-girlfriend, calls the police; when they arrive, David allows himself to be caught so the others can escape. Hugh agrees to bail David out, on the condition that he breaks up with Jade and she takes the internship as planned.
Against Hugh's orders, Jade goes to meet David at a restaurant where he's eating with his friend Mace...who, unbeknownst to either David or Jade, has invited Jenny. Jade suddenly turns up, and jumps to the obvious-but-wrong conclusion; frustrated, she drives off and gets into an accident. At the hospital, Hugh gives Harry a restraining order to keep David away from Jade...who has suffered only minor injuries. Upon leaving the hospital, she tries to contact David - having realized by now that he was never unfaithful to her and never would be. But Harry won't allow this because it would land his son in prison. Over the next few months, David and Jade each attempt to move on with their lives by seeing other people; still, both are unhappy.
David runs into Anne at a bookstore. She tells him that - despite the tension between her and Hugh - she admires his and Jade's love for each other. Anne arranges for David to meet Jade at the airport when she comes home for the holidays. The couple reaffirm their love, and Jade plans to move in with David that night, while Anne confronts Hugh about his obsession with destroying Jade's life. Anne also learns that Hugh prevented her recommendation letter for David from being sent out to college.
Back at home, Hugh reams Keith and Sabine for listening to records from Chris's collection. Keith seconds his mother's sentiments regarding what losing Chris has done to Hugh. When Keith subsequently announces that he's moving in with Sabine, Anne opts for going with him. Hugh then finds Jade preparing to leave with David, who is waiting outside. Hugh charges outside in a rage, knocking over a burning candle on the way, and furiously attacks David with a baseball bat. Jade rushes to his defense...proclaiming that it was Hugh himself, not David, who tore their family apart. The defeated Hugh goes back inside, and discovers the fire which has started in Chris's room; Jade and David see the house in flames, so David rushes back in to save Jade's father, who is struggling to gather up Chris' possessions. When David falls unconscious, Hugh decides to leave the things and help David to safety instead. Outside, David and Hugh put aside their differences while they wait for medical attention.
Anne and Hugh amicably separate but remain determined to rediscover the love, inspired by Jade and David...who are flying out to California, having been selected as maid of honor and best man at Sabine and Keith's wedding. Both couples celebrate on the beach, where they camp for the night. Sharing David's bedroll, Jade fondly recalls how her first love - the relationship she shares with him - was everything all at once, the kind of undying love worth fighting to keep.

Differences between the novel and the film

was originally offered the role of Jade, but turned it down. Sophie Lowe, Gabriella Wilde, Sarah Bolger, and Olivia Cooke were on the final shortlist for the role; Wilde was ultimately cast.
Principal photography began in May 2013 in Georgia. Filming wrapped in July 2013. Scenes were shot in Savannah, Georgia, Fayette County, Georgia, Butts County, Georgia at Lake Jackson, and at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Release

The first trailer was released on December 23, 2013.

Reception

Endless Love has received negative reviews from film critics. Criticism was mainly made towards the many liberties taken with the original source material. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 16% based on 93 reviews, with the consensus: "Blander than the original Endless Love and even less faithful to the source material, this remake is clichéd and unintentionally silly." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 30 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews" from critics. The film was not a box office success, earning a domestic gross of $23,438,250, barely over its estimated production budget of $20 million.
In 2013, after reading the screenplay for the film, Scott Spencer - the author of the novel on which the film was based - wrote that "It’s about one hundred pages, and the only ones that were not dreary were sciatica inducing". In 2014 he wrote that his novel "has been even more egregiously and ridiculously misunderstood" in making the remake than in the 1981 film.
Film historian Leonard Maltin was actually kinder to the remake, giving it two out of a possible four stars. Yet he also described the newer film as "Mediocre...This is sure to connect with its target audience - and it's Oscarworthy compared to the 1981 version - yet it remains overwrought and pointless for fans of the novel. Moreover, Lionel Richie's title tune - the only memorable aspect of the original - is sorely missed here."

Soundtrack

End title track "Don't Find Another Love" was sung by Tegan and Sara and written by Golden Globe award-winning composer Julie Frost. Singer/songwriter Skylar Grey's cover of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" was used for the trailer of the film. In addition, the song "Explosions" by Ellie Goulding was used in trailers adapted as television commercials. Another song which was taken is the track "Pumpin Blood" by the Swedish dance-pop group NoNoNo.
Director Shana Feste had considered using the original film's iconic theme song in one scene but eventually decided against it.