The Lucky One

A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.

Director: Scott Hicks

Writers: Will Fetters (screenplay), Nicholas Sparks (novel)

Stars: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner

Storyline

Logan is a marine serving in Iraq. While there, he finds a photo of a girl with "keep safe" written on the back. He is admiring it when his unit is attacked. He survives and credits the photo for saving him. He tries to find the owner but can't, assuming he was killed. When he goes back to the States, he finds it difficult to adjust and is still haunted by what happened. Analyzing the photo, he finds in the background a landmark that tells him she is in Louisiana. He then goes there and finds her. He learns her name is Beth. He tries to tell her what happened but can't get the words out. She assumes he's there to apply for the job they advertised looking for someone to help at her family's business, a dog kennel. He says yes but at first she gets an uneasy feeling from him but her grandmother decides to give him a chance. It isn't long that he makes a connection with her son. He then discovers that it was her brother who had the picture only he doesn't remember him.

Reviews

Zac Efron made some giant strides in shedding his Disney High School Musical image with this romantic drama where he plays a former Marine on a mission. In The Lucky One even gets some tastefully done romantic sex scenes with co-star Taylor Schilling.

While in Iraq on a military style mission Efron finds a picture of a pretty woman with the inscription 'stay safe' on the back. Without thinking it didn't help the Marine who had it before, he takes the picture and credits it as a good luck charm which kept him safe in a nasty fire fight. After discharge, Efron makes it his mission to find whose picture it is.

The mission takes him to the Louisiana bayou country where he finds Schilling together with her young son Riley Stewart and a most jealous ex-husband Jay Ferguson who is a deputy sheriff. She's living with her grandmother Blythe Danner and the photograph belonged to her brother who was in Iraq the same time as Efron.

There's a fine line between romance and stalking and Efron may have erased it. He tries to tell Schilling, but she just assumes he is answering an advertisement she put around town about her needing help with the family business which is a dog kennel. She hires him and nature takes its course.

Efron and Schilling hit it off for themselves on the screen and for the audience watching. Some real nice cinematography of Louisiana in the fall also distinguishes The Lucky One.

Will this be luck for life? You have to watch The Lucky One to find out. I will say Zac Efron was lucky to do this film.