Purple Hearts follows aspiring singer and musician Cassie Salazar (Sofia Carson) as she gets into a marriage of convenience to soon-to-deploy Marine Luke Morrow (Nicholas Galitzine). As they are both at an advantage with this marriage, they decide to fake their relationship, but soon a tragedy turns their fake relationship into something real. The movie is based on the novel by Tess Wakefield. 

The movie is a romantic drama, so for any romance fans out there, it’s a definite watch. As they both marry for their individual benefits and the relationship between the two grows, it is hard not to fall in love with the simple concept of the film. 

The actors and actresses of the film were outstanding. Sofia Carson takes the lead role as Cassie Salazar and makes herself stand out from the rest of the cast. As the main, troubled protagonist of the story, she stands out through her bold and witty approaches towards things which other girls would usually keep quiet about. Similarly, Nicholas Galitzine and his character’s backstory make him troubled but also confident in his approach in the film. The other characters were also very memorable, Frankie (Chosen Jacobs) stood out with his humorous and light-hearted approach towards the situation throughout the whole film. 

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The pacing of the film was slow at first but gradually picked up as the story went on. It dragged at the beginning as we saw Cassie’s struggle to come to terms with her problems and Luke’s struggle to keep his family safe from the peril of his drug dealing friend Johnno (Anthony Ippolito). Although this was the case, the use of real life issues in the film bring to light many issues which are present in society today. 

The cinematography and colour palette of Purple Hearts gave a hint of realism to the film. There were dark tones throughout the film reflecting the depressing reality of the life of the Marines and Cassie’s life as she came to accept the reality. However, warmer tones throughout the film show the light-hearted, happier aspects of what the film aimed to connote. 

The soundtrack of Purple Hearts is definitely memorable. The songs show the timeline in which Cassie and Luke’s relationship develop as their feelings for each other grow stronger.  The song which stood out to me the most was ‘Come Back Home’ which Cassie wrote for all the Marines who were fighting in war-torn countries and the lyrics were definitely heartfelt. 

Verdict:

Purple Hearts is a film which shines a light on important issues in society whilst also focusing on the romance that is at hand in the film. The soundtrack of the film definitely stood out to me and drove the film’s plot forward. 

Rating: 8/10  

Purple Hearts is streaming now on Netflix

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