Heart of the Country (2013) Jana Kramer, Gerald McRaney, Randy Wayne, Sydney Penny Movie Review

Heart of the Country (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Jana Kramer in Heart of the Country (2013)

Faith Not to Give Up

Faith (Jana Kramer) had a great life in the city with her husband Luke (Randy Wayne), that is until he is arrested for fraud and suddenly Faith finds she has no money and nothing to do as she wanders the streets of the city during the day trying to come to terms with the fact her husband had lied to her. It is then that Faith decides to return to rural North Carolina and her father Calvin (Gerald McRaney) and sister Olivia (Anne Hawthorne) who she walked out on many years earlier. With a feeling of guilt having abandoned them and with a lot on her mind to work out when it comes to whether to stick by the man she thought she knew especially with old friend Lee (Shaun Sipos) who is now a doctor taking an interest in Faith.

I came to "One Tree Hill" quite late but I ended up hooked on the series and as such when I stumble across a movie featuring any of its stars I make a point of watching them. It is how I came to watch "Heart of the Country" as I saw it starred Jana Kramer which was enough to entice me to watch but then again it also features Gerald McRaney and Sydney Penny which would have equally done the job of getting me to watch. And thankfully whilst the characters they play are not amazing they bring a certain appeal which makes "Heart of the Country" watchable.

Gerald McRaney and Shaun Sipos in Heart of the Country (2013)

Now I would love to live in the world that some of these characters exist in because I would love to escape back to a rural idyll when things turn bad and find a father willing to dish out some sage like home spun wisdom. Yes "Heart of the Country" is one of those movies which sees Faith heading home to try and get her head straight when it comes to the future and whether to stand by the man she married. But boy is there more to this than just that we have a handsome friend who has become a local doctor, her husband's family who blame her for her husband leaving the family business, some medical drama plus some past issues when it comes to Faith's own family including her mother's death. Now on one hand none of these story elements are original and the familiarity makes it easy to watch but at the same time in an 87 minute movie they make it crowded and none of them get explored to deliver any real depth.

What this means is that "Heart of the Country" is in many ways about the obvious appeals from its nice looking cast through to it being uncomplicated to the point it is really all about Faith doing some soul searching and healing. As such there is a style to this which is a little reminiscent of "One Tree Hill" and in many ways it will appeal to those who watched the popular series and grew up with the characters.

What this all boils down to is that "Heart of the Country" has its appeal and it is easy to watch for those who enjoy afternoon wholesome dramas. But this is quite a typical movie with familiar story elements and quite a predictable outcome.


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