| In the Book |
In the Movie |
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In the photograph, Beth is at the Hampton Carnival and two guys are visible in the background. |
She is alone and there is a lighthouse behind her. |
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The back of the picture says, Keep Safe, E |
It says Keep Safe, with an X
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In the picture, Beth is wearing a shirt that says Lucky Lady across the front. |
She is wearing a plain white shirt. |
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After he finds the photo, Logan experiences a string of good luck. He later avoids harm in several battles in Iraq. |
Immediately after finding the photo there is an explosion and he is lucky to survive.
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Beth runs the Sunshine kennels with her Nana. |
It is the Green kennels. |
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Logan gets a corps tattoo with his two army buddies. What it says is not mentioned. |
Logan has a couple of tattoo including a tribal arm band on his biceps and "All Glory Is Fleeting" across his back.
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Logan has long unruly hair. |
He has a military buzzcut. |
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The story begins with Keith Clayton spying on nude sunbathing coeds at a secluded beach. Logan is walking by and Clayton stops him to question him. |
The film begins with a shot of Louisiana and voice over from Logan. The scene then shifts to Iraq where Logan is a Marine.
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Keith's family is very powerful. The patriarch of the family is Gramps. He is Keith's grandfather, and great grandfather to Ben. |
Gramps doesn't appear. Keith's father takes on the role of the family patriarch. |
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Keith's Uncle is a Judge. He has the power to make things difficult for Beth regarding custody of Ben. |
Keith's father is a Judge who is now running for Mayor.
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Keith's Father is the Sheriff. |
He is a Judge. |
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The town is named Hampton. |
It is Hamden.
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In the photo, Beth is standing with a gray German Shepard. |
She is alone. |
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Ben takes Logan to his treehouse and Logan questions the safety of the rope bridge. Ben calls him a chicken. |
Logan never mentions the safety of the bridge.
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Logan gives Ben the Picture of Beth as a good luck charm to help him when he is being bullied at school. Logan asks him not to tell his mother about it. |
Logan never gives the picture away. |
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Logan carries the picture with him everywhere. |
He leaves it under a book at his place.
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Keith finds out from a friend that Logan was showing the picture of Beth around town. Keith gets him to explain the picture, and he uses that information to tell Beth about it. |
After hearing about the picture from his friend, Keith breaks into Logan's place and finds the picture. He takes it to Beth's place. |
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Beth is a full time 2nd grade teacher. |
She was a full time teacher, but took a leave of absence after the death of her brother. She occasionally picks up shifts as a substitute.
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Victor is with Logan for all his time in Iraq and escapes death along with him. When they return to the states, they are fishing in a rowboat that is hit by a speedboat and Victor is killed. |
Victor is killed in Iraq while riding in a Humvee and discussing the lucky picture with Logan. |
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Logan sees Victor's ghost. |
He doesn't.
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Logan finds Keith's digital camera in the brush after he has taken pictures of the naked coeds on the beach. Keith continues to look for the camera and the disc for the rest of the story. |
This doesn't happen. |
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Keith breaks into Logan's place to search for the digital camera disc. |
He breaks in to look for Drake's photo of Beth.
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When Logan first meets Beth, she assumes he is there to board Zeus, but he says no, he is there to apply for the job. |
She thinks he is there for Zeus, but when he says no, she assumes he is there for the job, he is trying to tell her about the picture, but doesn't. |
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Logan carries the picture of Beth for five years before he seeks her out. |
He leaves soon after arriving back from Iraq to find her.
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Beth asks an ex boyfriend if Keith scared him off, and he insinuates that he did. She later confronts Keith about it, and he denies it. |
No ex boyfriends of Beth are mentioned. |
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Logan waits in front of Keith's house for him. When he arrives he threatens him with the knowledge that he broke into his house looking for the digital camera and the incriminating photos. He claims to have photos of the break in. |
Logan only threatens Keith when he grabs Beth's arm when they are arguing. He tells him to do what she says and let go.
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Everyone refers to Beth as Beth, but Logan chooses to call her Elizabeth. |
He calls her Beth like everyone else. |
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Keith goes to Beth's classroom at school to tell her about Logan having Drake's picture of her. |
He goes to her house.
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Beth demands Drake's picture back and throws a flower pot at Logan. |
Keith gives her the picture and she doesn't throw anything at Logan. |
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Beth left school and went to the kennel to confront Logan about the picture. |
Logan realizes that Keith has taken the picture and goes to Beth's. He arrives just after Keith has left.
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Ben isn't present when Beth confronts Logan about the photo. |
Ben hears Beth tell Logan she doesn't want to see him and he goes to meet him and give him the book on chess strategy. |
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Ben tells his mother about the photo Logan gave him as a good luck charm. This makes Beth want to reconcile with Logan and she goes to his house. |
Logan helps Keith save Ben and after it is all over, Beth and Logan reconcile.
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Keith goes to Beth's place and wants her to kiss him and suggests that she will have to have sex with him in order to maintain custody of Ben. He tells her she has to dump Logan or he will take Ben away. Ben yells that he won't live with Keith and runs off. Keith tells her not to worry about it, but then they go to look for him at the tree house. |
He goes and begs for them to be a family again. She tells him no, and he tries to grab Ben. Ben flees out the back door and Keith chases after him to the tree house. |
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Beth breaks her foot running to try and save Ben. |
She doesn't.
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Drake was killed five days after the invasion in Iraq started. |
Drake was killed during a raid that Logan took part in. He recognized his nickname of "Aces" from a tattoo he saw in a picture and told Beth the story of how he died protecting another soldier. |
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Keith runs across the bridge and breaks through, breaking his rib. |
He falls in the water when the bridge collapses.
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This doesn't happen. |
Beth's family has an old boat that Logan fixes. |
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Ben busts his nose from being forced to play catch with his kieth. Kieth throws the ball too hard and it hits bens nose. |
Ben busts his nose catching a ground ball in a game that pops up and hits his nose
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Nana sings a solo with Logan accompanying him on piano. |
Ben plays his violin in church with Logan accompanying him on piano. |
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Logan is called Thighbolt by everyone except Beth. |
Everyone calls Logan by his first name.
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We only know Beth's grandmother by the name of Nana. |
We learn Nana's first name is Ellie. |
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After Beth and Logan's first date they go back into Logan's place and there they make love. |
Keith's friend Danny follows Beth and Logan home from their first date and sends Beth home. They do not make love until later on in the movie.
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The story takes place in North Carolina. |
It is Louisiana. |
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Logan's parents are in Colorado. |
They don't appear.
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Logan's dog, Zeus saves Ben. |
Keith Clayton saves Ben |
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Keith is struggling in the water and Logan goes to help him. Keith can barely breath and he inadvertently starts to push Logan under the water. They disappear under the water. |
Keith is uninjured, but his foot gets stuck when he saves Ben. Logan attempts to go back and save him.
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The tree house falls down while Ben is holding a rope attached to it. He is swept down the river. |
After Ben has been saved, the tree house collapses on top of Keith, killing him. |
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Zeus jumps into the water and swims to Ben and saves him. Ben and Zeus make it back to dry land, and Ben claims the picture of Beth saved him. |
Ben doesn't have the picture, and Zeus isn't there when Ben is saved.
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Two months later, Beth goes to put flowers on the graves of Drake and Keith, she then returns home to Logan, Ben and Zeus. |
Logan has restored the family boat and they ride on the water together as a family. |
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Clayton and Beth find Ben at the tree house and he is hanging in the water from a rope as the tree house seems ready to collapse. |
Keith arrives and Ben is stuck on the rope ladder. He tries to help him but the ladder collapses and they both go into the water.
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