Purple Hearts, the newest romance film on Netflix, stars singer and actress Sofia Carson and Cinderella actor Nicholas Galitzine in the title roles. The two-hour movie, which was directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, debuted on the streaming service on July 29, 2022.
Chosen Jacobs, Kat Cunning, Linden Ashby, Anthony Ippolito, John Harlan Kim, Sarah Rich, Scott Deckert, Loren Escandon, and Breana Raquel were additional cast members. The poignant drama, written by Kyle Jarrow and Liz W. Garcia, is sure to touch a few people’s emotions.
Purple Hearts begins as something original but eventually succumbs to the clichés of an opposites-attract relationship.
The story revolves around Cassie, a type 1 diabetic aspiring musician who works odd jobs to make ends meet. When we first met Cassie, she was a devout liberal with anti-gun and anti-war beliefs who had a “no dating military” policy. She corrected raucous and sexist Marines when they behaved inappropriately in the name of patriotism.
Purple Hearts got off to a terrific start with a fun dynamic between liberal Cassie and conservative Luke, a Marine who was about to deploy. The words, however, could have been phrased more skillfully so they didn’t sound like a pointless debate amongst social media show-offs.
The movie also started out as an insightful criticism and parody on jingoism, America’s dysfunctional healthcare system, and the exaltation of bigotry in the name of patriotism. Pretty soon, it descended into a tired romantic cliché about how opposites attract.
Cassie, a victim of the American healthcare system and big pharma, found it more and more challenging to obtain insulin on her own with her low money. Luke, however, had a troubled past with drug addiction and a dealer was currently pursuing him for the repayment of certain loans.
Is that the sole answer to their issues? A “marriage of convenience” that would provide Cassie access to military spousal benefits like complete healthcare and bring in some extra cash for Luke to pay off his debts.
On the wedding night, their pretend union began to develop a passionate and romantic side. Luke was shortly sent to Iraq as a result of the two choosing to disregard the passionate moment. Scenes concerning Luke’s base camp training and time in Iraq could have used some improvement.
Without giving too much away, many of the pivotal exchanges between the two characters and the turning points in their story appeared hurried or left to viewers’ assumptions. More dramatic aspects and genuine, sensitive, and raw moments may have been added to better justify the two-hour running time.
Luke, who stepped on an IED, returned from Iraq with severely damaged legs. Cassie had been forced into caring for her fictitious husband as a result of their phoney marriage, but their proximity and underlying attraction to one another caused bigger sparks to fly between them. However, Purple Hearts appeared too extended because the plot teetered on the will-they-won’t-they edge right up until the very end.
The characters entirely depart from their actual nature as presented at the beginning of the movie amid all this fresh turmoil and the beginnings of a new romance. Cassie seems to have overnight transformed into the patriot and adoring wife she initially detested. The story is also very difficult to accept because in reality, the theatrics had no effect on her musical career.
In general, Purple Hearts’ plot held the interest of everybody who enjoys watching romantic comedies. For those who live and breathe the genre, it delivers a hint of old world elegance with the military and war premise and the clichés of will-they-won’t-they romance. However, the writing could have been stronger, and additional originality and unpredictability wouldn’t have hurt.
The emotional narrative in Purple Hearts lacks chemistry, and the music isn’t compelling
Purple Hearts may be a romance movie with an emotional concept and patriotic undertones, but if the actors had better chemistry, the execution would have been much stronger. Watching Carson and Galitzine’s romantic and intimate interactions was a little unpleasant due to their lack of connection and lacklustre performances.
When it came to the development of their love story, the plot also deviated in illogical ways. It was simply out of character for Cassie to create a song honouring American heroes after ranting about her lack of patriotism. A hopeless romantic may attribute that to a different kind of love tale. She added that Luke served as her song’s inspiration.
Naturally, her first original song went viral and led to bigger concerts, effectively paving the way for her to become a rockstar. The turbulent drama in her life involving Luke had no impact on her career as she appeared at concerts and was given the opportunity to open for Florence + the Machine. It appeared as though her musical journey was a separate story unrelated to the movie.
The actors’ lack of chemistry wasn’t helped by the overabundance of musical numbers. The songs could have saved the movie if they had been able to touch the audience’s emotions, but none of them really stood out.
Even though Purple Hearts’ length makes it feel a little stretched, it is a solid enough escapist romance that will keep you interested. However, don’t anticipate too much spectacular success from it. Netflix currently offers the movie for streaming.