Love's Enduring Promise (2004) (TV)

Set in a frontier world of bonnets and one-room schoolhouses, Love's Enduring Promise follows a headstrong young teacher named Missie (January Jones, Bandits), the daughter of Clark and Marty Davis (Dale Midkiff and Katherine Heigl) from previous prairie romance Love Comes Softly. After Clark injures himself in a woodcutting accident, the family farm is in danger of failing–until a handsome young stranger (Logan Bartholomew) helps out. Missie finds herself drawn to this man, but the intelligence and graciousness of young railroad magnate (Mackenzie Austin, How to Deal) appeals to a side of her that yearns to go beyond the hills and valleys of her childhood. What could be romantic froth becomes a quiet, well-paced, and thoughtful love story, thanks to a solid script, capable performances, and clean direction. Jones is particularly engaging; Missie could have been blandly virtuous, but Jones draws a rich and subtle range of emotions out of her scenes. Religious viewers will appreciate the movie's commitment to wholesome storytelling and clear moral perspective. Love's Enduring Promise, like Love Comes Softly, is based on a novel by Christian writer Janet Oke, though Love's Enduring Promise departs more from its source.

Love's Enduring Promise continues the story of Marty and Clark Claridge, the mismatched couple who found themselves falling for each other in Love Comes Softly. And just like the original, Love's Enduring Promise works despite an overwhelming sense of wholesomeness; there's absolutely nothing gritty or cutting-edge about this story (it almost makes Little House on the Prairie look edgy by comparison).

The film picks up around ten years after the original, and Marty (Katherine Heigl) and Clark (Dale Midkiff) have long-since settled into their marriage and now spend their days farming and taking care of their two small children. Also in the household is Missy (January Jones), who is now an adult and working as a teacher. Missy finds herself being courted by two suitors, the exceedingly wealthy Grant (Mackenzie Astin) and a hard-working but poor man named Willie (Logan Bartholomew). But when Clark finds himself fighting for his life after an accident involving an axe, Missy must abandon her students and potential beaus in order to help out on the farm.

While Love's Enduring Promise has many of the same elements that made its predecessor so engaging, the film's not quite as captivating primarily because the focus has been taken away from Marty and Clark. Instead, Missy receives the lion's share of the movie's screen time, as she attempts to choose between Grant and Willie (there's also a subplot involving Willie's fractured relationship with his father). As effective as Jones is in the role (Astin and Bartholomew are also quite good), it's hard not to wish that the film had spent a little more time with Marty and Clark (particularly since Marty spent the majority of Love Comes Softly angry at Clark).

Nevertheless, it's hard not to get wrapped up in the various storylines contained within Love's Enduring Promise (there's just something oddly compelling about the film's complete lack of cynicism). Director Michael Landon Jr. (who also helmed the original) effectively paints a vivid picture of life in the 19th century, something that's assisted by Maximo Munzi's lush cinematography. Though there's no evidence that any further installments in this series are forthcoming, these characters are certainly intriguing enough to warrant at least one more sequel (novelist Janette Oke has written countless books revolving around the Claridges).