From NetFlix:

While on leave, U.S. soldier John Tyree (Channing Tatum) falls for Southern college student Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), whose ideals and heartfelt principles are at once attractive and unfamiliar. But their love is put on hold when terrorist attacks prompt John to reenlist. Now, handwritten letters hold the lovers together. Lasse Hallstrom directs this modern romance based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

As the film started I thought “Why on earth am I watching a PG-13 ?” (the one sex scene is so discreet as to be non-existent). Indeed the beginning of the film seemed like an ordinary chick flick. But there are enough worthwhile themes here to make the story interesting.

Richard Jenkins plays John Tyree’s autistic father. Just yesterday I reviewed The Confession (1999) in which Richard Jenkins plays a crooked politician. He plays the part of a father who loves his son but whose autism prevents him from expressing that love openly. There is one very touching scene between the two.

Channing Tatum has appeared in Stop-Loss (2008) which is another war film.

Amanda Seyfried is Chloe (2009) in the film of the same name.

This could be a tear-jerker.

Forgive my scepticism. I do not know enough about autism. But is it at all believable that an autistic man marries, has a normal son, and when the wife abandons the family while that boy is pre-school the father raises the boy to maturity ? And could that son do such selfless deeds ?