- Emma McNeil
“When my world is falling apart, when there’s no light to break up the dark, that’s when I look at you”
I sat there. Tears streaming down my cheeks. I just sat there. Was I supposed to remain seated until the credits came up at the end? Or walk out? If I knew before entering the cinema that I would be put in this predicament, would I have continued to go inside? These were the questions that have played on my mind since April 14th 2010. But now, I’m glad I went inside as it allowed me to show emotion through physical tears after seeing my life story being played out on screen.
Being a teenage girl, Miley Cyrus is one of the greatest people alive; hence, when she releases a new movie, box offices are bombarded and overwhelmed by teenagers, much like my friends and I. The Miley Cyrus film was titled “The Last Song”, directed by Julie Anne Robinson and based on the book written by Nicholas Sparks. I had previously read several books by Nicholas Sparks, but not this one; this story had obviously been kept for a time that I would be able to truly relate to; a time when I was ready to fully accept what had happened.
“When the waves are flooding to shore and I can’t find my way home anymore, that’s when I look at you”
Growing up, my best friend was my Dad. In my eyes, he was the greatest man alive; he was some form of superhero, powered to make everything in my life better again. Before I could even speak, my Dad and I spoke our own language, a language that only the two of us could comprehend. I was forever told by spectators that we had something not every father and daughter had, a bond. A bond that for all those years I thought was unbreakable, but it’s funny how life can throw you into new battles that you are forced to fight. But my Dad stopped fighting. In 2009, he met a new women, with new kids, who all came with a new lifestyle and that’s where the bond between us was broken.
My Mum and Dad were pronounced officially divorced in November 2005. After the divorce, my Dad quickly got involved with another women, but that relationship was short lived. So was the relationship after that and the relationship after that, therefore over time I became immune to seeing my Dad with someone else. But this latest women made an impact. She set the laws and he obeyed because she gave him the lifestyle he had always wanted; even if obeying these commands meant losing his two children.
“Everybody needs inspiration, everybody needs a song, a beautiful melody, when the nights are so long”
The film, “The Last Song”, is the story of a troubled teenager, Ronnie, reconnecting with her estranged father after three years of not speaking. At the time I am writing this essay, it’s been three years since I spoke with my Dad, coincidence? In the film, Ronnie and her father have an emotional connection through music. Music was the language my Dad and I communicated through. He introduced me to some of the world’s most influential artists of all time: The Stone Roses, Coldplay, Neil Diamond; artists that were able to tell their full life in a three-four minute song. 99% of the time I can understand what they are saying without the lyrics; to me, an uneven chord pattern symbolises the ups and downs of their life, the speed of the melody represents their satisfaction of what