'Love Ever After' movie review: 'It Was Always You'
'When Calls the Heart' star Erin Krakow has her perfectly practical engagement turned upside down in the romance 'It Was Always You' (premiering Feb. 27 as part of The Hallmark Channel's Love Ever After event).
In short: Elizabeth's (Krakow) engagement plans are thrown into disarray when her fiancé's globetrotting brother David (Tyler Hynes, 'Winter In Vail') returns home - prompting her to question her life decisions.
First and foremost, Krakow and Hynes are great in their respective roles - because of course they would be great. The general thrust of 'Always You' is watching Elizabeth realize her regimented life has been made of choices that 'makes sense' rather than following her passions. On the other hand, David has very little structure to his life - he apparently travels the world, taking jobs that fit into a life of constant wanderlust. David's laid-back, up-for-anything attitude is a perfect foil for the rigid and pragmatic Elizabeth.
Hynes brings a casual spontaneity to David, a man totally down for any adventure but not to the point of recklessness. Krakow's character is just this side of 'rigid,' yet, she has a flickering longing behind her eyes for something more than just the usual life. It's honestly enjoyable to watch Elizabeth slowly realize what she's missing with her safe life, and her burgeoning spark to live life to its fullest rather than just make choices that seem utilitarian.
'Always You' makes a better case for going with the flow than it does in creating a great romance. Oddly, for a story about two people dynamically opposed people who have known each other since childhood - Elizabeth and David seem very much like strangers. It's made clear that Elizabeth spent a lot of time with David's family, who lived across the street from her, growing up ... but it's all very vague. David isn't much of a character really - he's a sun-kissed catalyst who gets Elizabeth out of her comfort zone, but his characterization is pretty thin. If 'Always You' fleshed out the adolescent relationship between Elizabeth and David's family, then it might have given David more dimension - and more history between the two lead characters. To be sure, this is Elizabeth's journey off the well-worn path she's set herself on and David inspires her to take chances - but their romance would be all the more satisfying if he was just a little more dimensional.
Final verdict: 'Always You' is a nice story about following your heart's desire - even if the romance is a bit underwhelming.
Score: 3 chocolate hearts (out of 5)
'It Was Always You' premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Feb. 27 as part of the Love Ever After event. The movie is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes.
