Whether you’re eagerly anticipating it, facing the prospect with panic-soaked dread or essentially trying to forget it even exists, the fact remains that Valentine’s Day is on its way. And everyone wants to get into the act, especially the new Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride. The latest, Valentine's-themed trailer has arrived online.
Based as ever on the prolific writer’s novel output, The Longest Ride features not one, but two romantic tales. Set in the present day is the star-crossed affection between beautiful college student Sophia (Britt Robertson), all set for a job in New York City’s art world and the chiselled Luke (Scott Eastwood), a champion bull rider. She’s caught between wanting to pursue her dream gig and staying with the bloke she’s forged a deep connection with, and he’s desperate to keep riding, even though his medics, his mother and the woman in his life want him to stop lest he end up another casualty.
Enough there for a film you might think, but wait! There’s more. Sophia and Luke make an unexpected connection with Ira (Alan Alda), who regales them with the saga of meeting and romancing his beloved wife, with flashbacks to their decades-long love story (with Jack Huston as the younger Ira and Oona Chaplin as his other half). What can the young lovers learn from someone who has experienced everything that relationships have to offer?
With George Tillman Jr. behind the camera for this one, The Longest Ride ambles into UK cinemas on April 8.