What a wonderful romantic/mystery film that delivered a lot more than I ever expected from another Lifetime movie. Lead actress Meghan Ory plays a professional expressionist photographer named Chloe Davenport who purchases a complete stranger's 1970's Memory Book from a flea market. The Memory Book piques Chloe's interest to find the actual owner of this romantic historical portfolio of this unknown couple's young and genuine romance captured in the pictures contained in their memory book.
The big question is....who would ever relinquish their loving memory book with their personal lifetime of romantic memories and how did it end up being sold for a mere $10 at a local flea market? In walks an amateur photo critic named Gabe Sinclair (Luke Macfarlane) while Chloe has an art exhibit underway at a local gallery and with every word that comes out of Gabe's mouth in his attempt to describe his personal opinion of Chloe's photos on the art wall he keeps burying himself further and further into Chloe's bad books.
Eventually Gabe and Chloe meet again under more pleasant circumstances and slowly but surely Gabe makes up for his initial blunder and criticism of Chloe's photo art exhibit. Their two personalities could not be any more different but isn't that what true romantics say? "Opposites do attract!" As Chloe explains to Gabe her interest in the strangers Memory Book she just purchased and her need to find the owner and hear the owner(s) romantic story Gabe takes it upon himself to spontaneously move forward with the investigation. Gabe decides on his own to do some of his own investigating of what each romantic picture in the mysterious Memory Book means that also sets Chloe on an unexpected and spontaneous adventure with Gabe leading the way with the reluctant and very cautious Chloe who has little interest (at first) in getting to know Gabe on any personal level.
As with rock and ballad singer Rod Stewart's famous album "Every Picture Tells A Story" so did each of the pictures in the enclosed Memory Book tell a story that Gabe boldly chose to take Chloe off of her feet and explore each of these stories behind each of the pictures. As the Memory Book mystery gradually is unfolded by Gabe's and Chloe's dogged approach so does the relationship between these two forlorn and cautious lovebirds. I will admit it, I had uncontrollable tears flowing a few times as the director Paul A. Kaufman did an excellent job in bringing out the best performances not only in Gabe and Chloe's performances, but also in the mysterious Sarah Lund (Adrienne Barbeau) and Jack Dodd (Art Hindle) whose romantic pictures tell their true story.
How this particular romantic/mystery film kept my attention without becoming just another notch in the string of so-so Lifetime films is a credit to the writer Duane Pool, the director Paul A. Kaufman, and the four main stars, Meghan Ory (Chloe), Luke Macfarlane (Gabe), and the mysterious romantic couple Adrienne Barbeau (Sarah) and Art Hindle (Jack/Jonathan). I found this made for TV movie was deserving of more than one Academy Award nomination even though it was a made for TV film and only entitled to the Emmy awards.
This is truly a film classic worth watching multiple times that I will be sure to purchase and pop into my Blu Ray player from time to time and watch with Mrs. Shullivan to remind ourselves that any good romance comes with both its share of good times, hardships and true love in varying proportions, but all contain our memories worth cherishing.
A perfect 10 for 10
