"The Vow" is a 2012 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Sucsy. It stars Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum as Paige and Leo Collins. The film was written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, and Jason Katims. It is based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter. Other actors in the film include Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange, and Jessica McNamee in supporting roles. In 2013, "The Vow" was the eighth highest-grossing romantic drama film since 1980. This was the last film produced by Spyglass Entertainment before the company closed in 2012 and reopened in 2019.
Plot
Paige Collins and her husband, Leo, leave a movie theater on a snowy evening. On their way home, at a stop sign, Paige unfastens her seatbelt to lean over and kiss Leo. At that moment, a salt truck crashes into their car from behind, causing Paige to be thrown through the windshield. Both Paige and Leo are taken to the hospital.
As Leo speaks in a voice-over about how "moments of impact help in finding who we are," the story explores his relationship with Paige, including their courtship, engagement, and wedding at the Art Institute of Chicago, all connected to the present. Paige is placed in an artificial coma and later wakes up, discovering she has forgotten all her memories. Paige’s parents, Bill and Rita Thornton, learn about her condition and visit her, meeting Leo for the first time.
Paige is confused because Leo is her husband but does not know her parents. She also does not understand why she left law school, ended her engagement with her former fiancé, Jeremy, or lost contact with her family and friends. To help her remember, Leo plays her a voice message as proof. Paige decides to return to Leo, hoping it will help her regain her memories. She is welcomed back with a surprise party hosted by her friends, none of whom she recognizes, which makes her feel overwhelmed.
The next day, Paige goes to a café she used to visit but gets lost on the way back. She calls Rita for help and returns to Leo. Later that evening, Bill and Rita invite the couple to dinner. Soon after, Paige’s sister, Gwen, and her fiancé invite them to a bar. Leo feels he does not fit in with Paige’s family. At the bar, Paige meets Jeremy again and begins to feel drawn to him. Leo continues trying to help her remember. Paige secretly visits Jeremy at his office and asks about their broken engagement. Jeremy’s answer is unclear, but he still seems interested in her. While Leo shows Paige her art studio, she suddenly becomes angry with him. As Gwen’s wedding approaches, Paige decides to stay with her parents. Leo asks Paige on a date and spends the night with her, but their relationship grows more difficult when Bill tries to convince Leo to leave Paige, leading Leo to fight Jeremy. Paige returns to law school, and a heartbroken Leo realizes that Paige’s memory may never return.
At a Trader Joe’s, Paige meets Diane, an old friend who does not know about Paige’s amnesia. Diane reveals that she had an affair with Bill, which explains why Paige was estranged from her family. When Paige confronts Rita about this, Rita explains that she stayed with Bill because of his good qualities, not because of his mistake. Reuniting with Leo, Paige learns that he wanted to earn her love instead of pushing her away from her family. In class, Paige begins sketching again as an interest. Despite Bill’s concerns about her leaving law school, Paige reassures him that she will always be his daughter. She continues exploring art, eventually returning to sculpting and drawing. Jeremy admits he ended his relationship with his girlfriend to win Paige back, but she turns him down, saying she needs to understand what life would be like without him.
As the seasons change, Leo again reflects on "moments of impact," recognizing that such events can cause changes with effects that are hard to predict. In her room, Paige finds a menu card on which she had written her wedding vows. Later, she meets Leo at the café. Though they admit their relationship has ended, they agree to have dinner together and walk away arm in arm.
Production
In June 2010, Variety announced that Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum would star in the film. Filming for the movie took place in Toronto and Chicago from August to November 2010.
The movie The Vow is inspired by the real-life story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, who wrote a book with the same title. On September 18, 1993, the couple married. Ten weeks later, they were in a serious car accident. Krickitt suffered a serious brain injury that caused her to forget her relationship with Kim and their marriage. Kim still loved his wife but was seen as a stranger by her. In 2018, Kim admitted to having an affair, and the couple divorced.
The film was first planned in 1996 when Caravan Pictures bought the rights to the book. Later, the project was moved to Spyglass Entertainment. Stephen Herek was originally chosen to direct the movie. At first, Disney was the film’s distributor, but the rights were sold to Paramount Pictures and later to Sony.
The soundtrack for the film was released on February 7, 2012, by Rhino Records. The film’s score, created by Rachel Portman and Michael Brook, was released digitally on the same date through Madison Gate Records. The digital version of the soundtrack also includes the song “England” by The National.
Release
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 30% approval rating based on 132 reviews and an average score of 4.95 out of 10. The site’s summary states, "Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams do their best with what they're given, but The Vow is too shallow and familiar to satisfy the discriminating date-night filmgoer." On Metacritic, which calculates an average score by considering the importance of reviews, the film received a score of 43 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
Emma Dibdin from Total Film gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, noting, "There's an essential sweetness at work here, thanks partly to McAdams and partly to an unusually chaste love story that ultimately keeps melodrama at bay." Helen O'Hara from Empire also gave the film 3 out of 5 stars. She praised McAdams as "excellent" and Tatum as "surprisingly heartbreaking," adding that the film’s plot flaws are "overlookable" and that it is "a wonderful – if a bit teary – romance that is brilliantly acted." Stephanie Merry from The Washington Post wrote, "It's a shame things are so black and white because the movie has more promise – and more laughs – than trailers suggest." She also noted that Tatum "delivers some memorable quips" and that he and McAdams "have chemistry."
Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "pleasant enough as a date movie, but that's all." USA Today described the film as appealing "to the most rabid fans of tearjerk romances like The Notebook," but called it a "hard-to-swallow, maudlin tale." Betsy Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Despite the sweet story, this is a movie that leaves you wanting more. To care more, to cry more, to love more." James Berardinelli from ReelViews criticized the film, stating, "With its would-be crowd-pleasing contrivances and rote adherence to formula, [this film] offers almost no redeeming characteristics. […] This is for young women what Transformers is for young men." He concluded by calling it a "heartless, soulless product."
The Vow opened at #1 in its first weekend, earning $15.4 million on its opening day and $41.2 million over the weekend. On Valentine’s Day, it made $11.6 million, setting a new record for the highest-grossing mid-week Valentine’s Day film. That record was later broken by Bob Marley: One Love in 2024 with $14 million. The film earned about $9.7 million internationally during that weekend.
During the weekend of February 24–26, The Vow became the first film of 2012 in North America to reach $100 million, and the third film worldwide to do so, following Underworld: Awakening and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The film earned $125 million in North America and $71.1 million internationally, totaling $196.1 million worldwide. It is the eighth highest-grossing romantic drama film since 1980.
The film’s DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released on May 8, 2012, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.