The Lucky One Review
I’m a sucker for a good romance drama and The Lucky One, was on the top of my watch list. Knowing it was one of Nicholas Sparks’ works (think The Notebook or Dear John), I expected romance and tragedy. I rarely cry during films, but this one got me.
It stars Zac Efron as Logan Thibault, Taylor Schilling as Elizabeth “Beth” Green, Blythe Danner as Ellie, Jay R. Ferguson as Keith Clayton, and Riley Thomas Stewart as Benjamin “Ben” Clayton. The movie begins in Iraq. We’re thrown into the chaos of war and violence within the first few minutes, and that’s when we meet Logan Thibault, a Marine. Amidst the battle, he finds a photograph of a woman, and this moment distracts him, ultimately saving his life. It becomes clear that this picture is more than just luck for him.
Back home, Logan’s life isn’t easy. He moves in with his sister but struggles with PTSD. Even everyday things—like his nephew playing video games—can send him into a spiral. Eventually, he finds the woman in the photo, convinced she played a role in his survival.
His search leads him to Colorado, where he meets Beth, the woman from the photo. She runs a dog kennel with her grandmother. Logan ends up working there but doesn’t tell Beth right away why he came.
Beth is also going through a lot. She’s mourning the loss of her brother, who died in combat, and dealing with her controlling ex-husband, Keith. They co-parent their son Ben, but Keith’s presence is toxic and overbearing.
One criticism I had was that I believed the relationship between Beth and Logan felt rushed. I know it’s a romance, but it didn’t feel natural to me. She thought he was strange when they first met, so her sudden interest didn’t fully make sense.
Beth also let her guard down quickly, which surprised me. Maybe it was loneliness, but even after finding out Logan had a connection to her late brother and hadn’t told her, she forgave him fairly easily. It felt a bit one-sided—Logan clearly cared deeply for her, but I wasn’t always convinced she felt the same way.
I often wanted to tell Beth to trust her instincts more. She tried too hard to keep the peace with her ex, even when it wasn’t working. Keith was toxic, and she knew that. I found myself frustrated for her, wanting her to stop trying to please people who didn’t deserve it, especially when it came to protecting Ben.
Despite some of my frustrations with the romance and Beth, The Lucky One is still really moving. It’s one with a lot of life lessons. The relationship didn’t always feel convincing, but the themes of grief and healing made it worth watching.