The Vow

The Vow

The Vow is a movie inspired by the real life true story of the couple Kim and Krickitt Carpenter.  The movie stars Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams as Leo and Paige a couple madly in love. We first see this couple Leo and Page walking out of a movie theater to discover that it had snowed a lot. When they were in their car driving away, they began to talk about their future. Paige tells him about her theory that she heard the best way to get pregnant is by having sex in a car.  Leo says he has a theory too. It is about moments, moments of impact. This is when their lives change forever.

When see Leo again he is in the hospital.  He continues, ”I have a theory too. My theory is about moments. Moments of impacts. My theory is that, these moments of impact, these flashes of high intensity that completely turn our lives upside down actually end up defining who we are.” He goes on tell us of his absolute favorite moment when he and Paige met and fell in love 4 years earlier.

Back in the present, Leo is talking to the doctor about Paige’s condition.  He then continues his theory, “The thing is, each one of us is the sum total of every moment that we’ve ever experienced, with all the people we’ve ever known. It is these moments that become our history, like our own personal greatest hits of memories that we play and replay in our mind, over and over again.” He then tells us about the time he invited Paige to move in with him and also how they got married in a museum.  At the ceremony they recited their vows, which they both had written on menus. As the wedding ceremony ends the museum’s security notices them and Paige and Leo run and get away from them.

After they are married a while we see Paige in her art studio trying to sculpt but having trouble. Leo comforts her. In a voice over, he then tells us “A moment of total, physical, mental and every other kind of love.”

After the car accident, Paige wakes up from her coma with amnesia. She thinks Leo is her doctor because she doesn’t remember she is married to him.  She has lost all memories from the past few years. Still in voice over, Leo tells us “So that is my theory, that these moments of impact define who we are.  But what I never considered is, what if one day we never could remember any of them.”

In the hospital lobby, Leo is sleeping and Paige wakes him up asking what he is doing.  She says she is hungry and they go to the cafeteria . She asks him about her life. He tells her she has an art studio and this puzzles her.  She wonders why she isn’t a lawyer because her last memory is that she was in law school.

The next day, when Leo comes to visit her he discovers that she been moved to the VIP area and is shocked to see she has called her parents whom he has never met.  It becomes awkward very quickly when she discovers that he had never met her parents. 

The doctor says that if Paige continues her normal routine after she is released from the hospital that she might regain her memory. Her parents suggest that she comes home with them when she is released but Leo insists she comes home with him.

As Paige and Leo talk she finds out that she hasn’t talked to her parents in years.  She says the last thing she remembers being in law school and being engaged to Jeremy.  She wants proof she is really married to Leo for true love and it’s not a marriage of convenience.

As she is getting ready to leave the hospital with her parents, Leo comes running down the hall.  He plays a  loving voicemail she had left him before the accident. This is how he proved they may actually love each other.  He tells her there has to be a reason she quit law school, called off her engagement and moved into the city.  Leo says she should honor those commitments.  She agrees.

When they arrive home there is a surprise homecoming party for her. She is overwhelmed by all their friends whom she can’t recognize and excuses herself.  After everyone leaves Paige yells at Leo. She tells him to leave her alone.  Leo spends the night in the other room. When he woke up in the middle of the night he was still half asleep he goes about his normal routine which is walking to the bedroom without clothes on. That is when Paige catches him naked. They are both embarrassed and she tells him he should have knocked. After all, while she has seen him before she doesn’t remember that so it is like the first time all over again. 

The next day, Leo begins to explain what her normal routine is. He told her she makes coffee. Leo is shocked to see her eat a piece of bacon because she is a vegetarian, but she doesn’t remember. He tells her that she is a sculptor and is working on some pieces.  He offers to take to her studio but she didn’t want to go yet.  He goes off to work and shows her the keys and her phone. While home alone she looks around the apartment she come across the note he left on their wedding DVD that says “more evidence.” As she watches it, she gushes over it.

She does venture out that day to her regular café, but she doesn’t know it’s the one she always goes to. The lady behind the counter asks her if she wants her usual. She doesn’t remember how to get back home so she calls her mom from one of the stores to come pick her up. It is the only phone number she remembers, as she explained to Leo when she got home that afternoon.  Paige informs Leo how they are invited to her parents for dinner.

After dinner they go to the bar and meet up with her friends.  Leo feels he does not fit in with them. They also run into an old friend Diane who Paige tries to say hi to but her sister says, “We don’t talk to her anymore.” Paige is confused. At the bar they run into her ex-fiancé Jeremy. She begins to flirt with right in front of Leo. 

The next day, she goes to visit Jeremy at work  to find out why they broke up. She also finds out he is with someone else. As she leaves his office she hugs him but it turns into a kiss. She doesn’t remember why she dumped him or shut everyone out for 5 years.

Back at her home to help her figure out her life she uses photos she founds and puts them in a timeline. She said her last memory before she woke up at the hospital was ordering Toasted Ravioli from the Macaroni Grill.

The next day, she says she is ready to see her art studio.  It puzzles her because she doesn’t remember. He tries to help her and turns up the music so she can become inspired. She doesn’t want that.  They end up in argument.

The next day she moves out. Her excuse is that she needs to help her sister with her wedding. While Leo doesn’t like it he lets her go and tells her to be careful.

When Paige goes for her check up with her doctor she is asked does she want to regain her memory. The doctor says that, “Because some patients fear when their memories comes back, some of their memory comes to trauma, but that's not really the case.”  Paige says her fear may be that she might like the life she had.  The doctor advises her to fill the holes in her memory rather than be afraid of her past.

Leo goes to Paige’s sister’s engagement party.  He suggests to Paige that they go on a date so that they can fall in love again  On the date he takes her on a retrospective of them falling in love. One of the places he takes her is the river where he points out they promised they go in every month no matter what.  He coaxes her into doing this even though it is freezing.  When she comes out she says her fingers are tingling.  To warm them up he kisses them.  Leo takes her back to the apartment where they are kissing but nothing else.  He does drive her back to her parents and lets her know he loves her.  She goes into the house.  Her sister is waiting up. Her sister tells her she likes Leo.  Paige begins to cry.

When Leo is discussing the date with his friends they said don’t rush calling her. They tell him that to her this is just a good first date.  Paige is happy when her father informs her she can get back into Law School.  She says it is like a whole new life.

At the wedding Paige’s father talks with Leo.  He tells Leo that if he divorces Paige he will pay for all the hospital bills that will start coming in.  Leo tells her father that he is a hypocrite. That if he is this family man he is trying to be now then why did he never once try to come to meet him before.

Leo is by himself waiting for Paige when Jeremy comes by him.  Leo says, “You’re loving this aren’t you?” and Jeremy says, “A little.” Leo says, “Well, guess what? Paige told me everything about you. How she would wake up at night asking herself, is this all there is?” Jeremy says, “Well did she also tell you how she threw herself at me the other day?” Leo says, “Paige outgrew you before, and she will again.” Jeremy says, “I’ll think about that while I’m in bed with your wife,” and Leo punches him.  Paige see that and is angry.  Leo confronts her and says he has been doing everything to save their relationship while she was going after Jeremy.  He says it’s time to be realistic that her memory is not coming back.  As Leo is leaving Paige says she hopes one day she can love him the way he loves her.

Paige runs into Diane in the supermarket and finds out why they don’t talk.  Diane apologizes for the affair that she had with her dad.  Paige comes home and confronts her mom. Yells at her mom that she feels betrayed because no one said anything.  Paige now knows the reason she hasn’t talked to her family. Her mom said she didn’t want to lose her again. Paige realizes that  she can’t figure out who she is while she around her family.  She also goes to Leo to ask him if he knew of the affair. He said yes he didn’t want Paige to lose her family again so he didn’t tell her.

Paige informs her father she is leaving law school because she wants to discover who she is.  Her father is afraid that he will lose her again. She says she won’t.

Paige is back to sculpting and painting. While looking through some old boxes she comes across the vows that Leo recited at the wedding.  In a voice over we hear Leo say, “A moment of impact. A moment of impact has potential for change, has ripple effects far beyond what we can predict. Sending some particles crashing together making them closer than before, while sending others off into great ventures, ending where you never thought you’d find them. You see that’s the best thing of moments like these, you can’t, no matter how hard you try, control how they are going to effect you. You just got to let these colliding particles land where they may and wait until the next collision.”

You’ve just read the synopsis of what happens in the movie it is probably a good indicator if you want to watch the movie. 

The Vow (Official Site)