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Movie Review 1
Theories Of Counseling (Liberty
University)
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Running head: MOVIE REVIEW: THE LAST SONG 1
Movie Review: The Last Song
Liberty University
Rachel Agtuca
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Movie Review: The Last Song
Summary
The Last Song, written by Nicholas Sparks and directed by Jennifer Gobgot and Adam
Shankman, is a movie that takes place in the small town of Wrightsville Beach, Georgia. Ronnie,
the protagonist, is a rebellious 17-old-girl who is spending the summer with her younger brother,
Jonah, to visit her separated father in Georgia. Her father, Steve, was a former Julliard concert
pianist where he took her under his wing, and they shared the same love for music. However,
since Ronnie’s parents became divorced three years prior, she barely kept in contact with her
father throughout the time period. They grew estranged and felt as if they did not know each
other. Due to the divorce, Ronnie’s perspective of life shifted as she grew defiant, resentful, and
troubling to let others into her inner circle. She became friends with a troubled group of teens,
declined college acceptances, and gave up her favorite hobby of playing the piano.
This movie was a coming-of-age film where Ronnie and Steve learned to reconnect
through new relationships, shared interests, and Christ. Throughout the summer, Ronnie finds a
compassionate and genuine boyfriend that teaches her about unconditional love and trusting
others. Near the end of the summer, Steve reveals his suffering of a terminal illness. Ronnie and
Jonah are heartbroken, and Ronnie spends the fall in Georgia to take care of her father. During
this time period, Ronnie rekindles her relationship with her dying father. As he became too weak
to play piano, she began working on completing a ballad he was writing for her. The day she
completed the song, Steve passed away as she finished it. At Steve’s funeral, Ronnie played the
song they had wrote together. She sees a light shining through the church’s stained glass
window that Steve had made and says, “Hello Daddy”, as she could feel his presence watching
over her.
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Personal Implications
Due to the nature of the film, The Last Song is highly relatable on a personal level as
many teenage girls go through a rebellious and defiant phase with their parents. Through
experience of coming from a broken home, it is normal to feel lost, angry, and hurt from one’s
parents separating. Ronnie was undoubtedly her own person throughout the entirety of the
movie. She was a troubled outcast spending the summer where she did not have a close group of
friends. However, as she began to create new relationships with the town locals and her
romantic partner, Will, she began to mature and break down her damaged walls.
From observing Ronnie’s relationship with her mother, Kim, it was evident that Kim
had no knowledge of how to handle the circumstances after the divorce or knew how her
teenage daughter would manage the residual effects. From the context given, Kim and Ronnie
had no open-door policy with one another. Due to this, when Kim would find out what or who
Ronnie had been doing or seeing, this would lead to explosive arguments. Which in turn, would
create a larger barrier between the two. If Kim would have been more open to communication
with her daughter from the beginning of the circumstances, their relationship could have been
stronger and transparent. With Ronnie’s father out of the picture as soon as the divorce
occurred, Ronnie felt no support through her family and tried to find her own through her peers.
A scene that I disagreed with on a personal level was when Ronnie’s “friend”, Blaze,
frames her for shoplifting at a local boutique due to jealousy. Blaze was a troubled girl who
became a bad influence on Ronnie. She was also in a toxic relationship with someone who was
unfaithful to her. I believe Blaze is a symbol of the evil in the world, that can be disguised to the
naïve eye. Ronnie showed compassion in the end, as she tried to help Blaze through her lowest
time by giving her the money she needed to leave the toxic relationship. Due to this act of
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kindness, Blaze gave up her devilish ways in the end and showed her true loyalty to Ronnie at
the funeral.
Professional Implications
From a professional counseling perspective, parents need to be more conscious and plan
prior to signing divorce papers of how the circumstances will affect their children and their
children’s future relationships. This life-altering decision that two people make does not only
affect their lives but will domino effect into those around them significantly. Through knowing
this, how each parent acts accordingly after the divorce demonstrates the caregiver capabilities of
each individual. Ronnie’s father seemed to have give up on his children for 3 years after moving
states away. This alone is the reasoning for why Ronnie had become so troubled due to feeling as
if she lost her own father. Ronnie’s closed off relationship with her mom was cold and
unwelcoming, making it so that she did not have a role model in her life to look up to.
Instilling a solid foundation of Christ and functional communication within a personal or
professional relationship is important for any setting. Boundaries and standards will be set on
both ends, however, there will be open self-disclosure in place. Through building this trust
within connections, others will be able to feel secure in who they are and foster self-confidence
within themselves.
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References
Gobgot, J. & Shankman, A.(Producers), Sparks, N. (Writer), Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures. (2010). The Last Song. [Motion Picture].
