Brace yourself for another Nicholas Sparks romance movie to add to your chick-flick repertoire. While Safe Haven is flawed with cliché dialogue and predictability, it provides the audience a unique perspective on domestic violence. By looking past the obvious errors and digging deeper, the viewer discovers subtle clues involving female domestic abuse victims and their new role in society.

The main heroine Katie (played by Julianne Hough) narrowly escapes an attack from her husband and takes a bus to a small coastal town in North Carolina. Hoping for a new start, she settles down by purchasing a shack in the middle of the woods and lands a job at the first seafood restaurant she can find. Her first experience in town involves her meeting the convenience shop owner, Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widowed man with two children.

It is blatantly obvious that Alex and Katie have an instant connection and are “meant to be”. After some awkward dialogue, they decide to visit the beach together along with Alex’s children. His daughter Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) immediately loves Katie, while his son Josh (Noah Lomax) takes longer to adjust to a motherly figure. There are many day-dream-like scenes involving Katie and Alex, whether they are dancing, canoeing, or kissing in the rain. Boys, get your girlfriend’s Kleenex ready. Everything is going well in the land of sunshine and happiness, until Katie’s husband begins looking for her.

Safe Haven gives the viewer insight into the life of a victim of domestic abuse (spoilers ahead). The movie accurately depicts a violent scene between Katie and her husband, in which he is drunk and attacks her by attempting to suffocate her. Katie stabs her husband using a nearby knife and makes a getaway to a neighbor’s house. It is there that she cuts her hair and dyes it blonde before rushing to the bus station. Upon arriving to the new town, people often ask her if she is O.K. and she

responds with “Yeah I’m fine,” revealing a victim’s natural tendency to pretend like the attack never happened.Later, Alex gives Katie a bike and she reacts angrily saying, “I didn’t ask for it. And I don’t want it. I don’t want to owe [Alex] anything.” Her dialogue accurately depicts the attitude of a domestic assault victim. She is afraid of getting closer to another man because of the relationship she had with her husband.

The tempo of the movie finally picks up when Katie’s husband tracks her down and meets her at the convenience store. Drunk and distraught, he begs Katie to get back together with him. Katie realizes the danger of her situation and forces her husband outside and away from Lexie, who is inside the shop. Katie depicts a determined victim, different from the typical weak version we see in media today. Instead of running away, she demands that her husband leave. Katie convinces him to walk by the dock and doesn’t hesitate to push him into the ocean. She then runs back to the convenience shop to find Lexie. Katie is surprised when her husband returns for a second attack, but she fights back convincingly (I won’t spoil the ending for you).

Despite the film’s pointless plot twist, (trust me, you will understand when you watch it) Safe Haven represents a new era of women impacted by domestic abuse. Katie is brave. She singlehandedly found the strength to save herself and protect Lexie. In previous movies, women would often run away from their abusers and seek protection from a new man. She is a refreshing female lead who fights against her attacker instead of being the submissive victim that the audience expects.

If you are hoping to watch an Oscar worthy performance, then search again because Safe Haven doesn’t come close. However, there are a few glimpses of brilliance surrounded by a sea of clichés. Though Safe Haven falls flat on character development, it’s subtle look into domestic violence makes it tolerable. Girlfriends will love this movie without a doubt, but deeper meaning is harder to find. You will have to take the time to look.