A Walk to Remeber (I Dare You to Move)

             Throughout my life I have always been a fan of music. It inspires me, embraces me, and moves me in a way I can’t explain. One of my favorite films of all time would be “A Walk to Remember”, starring Mandy Moore and Shane West. In the film, Jamie Sullivan (Many Moore) discloses that she has cancer and Landon Carter (Shane West) is forced to deal with the potential loss of a first love. Through trial and tribulation, he reaches out to his father, a well-known doctor in the area. The epic scene that drew me to tears was when Landon went to visit his father in the middle of the night and begged him to help out Jamie. His father said he would try his best, but there was not much he could do with the circumstances presented. Landon storms off in his Cobra back to his small hometown left with nothing but disappointment. He began to cry and Switchfoot cued…

        I felt his pain, aggravation, and helplessness. There was nothing he could do for the woman he fell so hard for. This song was clearly meant to appeal to the audience’s emotions and it truly made me feel what the character was going through at this moment. I believe Switchfoot’s, “I Dare You to Move” song in this moment was both for Landon and his father. This symbolism for his father, being a distant parent, was speaking to him saying I dare you to make a move and do something for someone that you normally wouldn’t. For Landon, it was I dare you to move and not give up on hope. It was motivational because Landon does not know what will happen next, but he shouldn’t give up on hope. He should, “lift himself off the floor” and keep trudging along even though he feels like giving up. In my eyes, this scene proves that Landon loves Jamie and the dramatic, moving song only enhanced the sadness and sympathy that I felt for him.

            Film composer, Clint Mansell, who has been credited for connecting the spirit with the themes of movies, feels that the success of a story has to with the “human connection”. He believes that the music should “give off the basic feelings of what it is to be human” (Daily Variety). In this scene, I began to feel what Landon and his father must have been feeling in this moment. The tone and lyrics drove me to further understand the confusion, sadness, and hurt that the characters were feeling and the cue of a simple song lead me to tears. I was able to put myself in their shoes and imagine what it must feel like to be helpless in an uncontrollable situation. Like the rest of the soundtrack, this song was the perfect choice. It appealed to my emotions and did something that just a common dialogue could not have.