After more than two weeks of streaming on Netflix, the romantic drama Purple Hearts continues to capture the hearts of most viewers — but there are some detractors.
The film tells the story of Cassie (Sofia Carson), an aspiring singer and songwriter and liberal with health issues who marries a conservative Marine named Luke (Nicholas Galitzine), so she can use his military’s medical insurance. Remezcla called it “the perfect kind of comfort movie” featuring a “spirited, emotional performance by its leads…and a great soundtrack.”
Still, some movie watchers have gone as far as saying Purple Hearts contains misogynistic and racist themes and is akin to “military propaganda.” One scene that is brought up is during a toast when a Marine says, “This one is to life, love and hunting down some goddamn Arabs, baby!” before Cassie protests his comments.
Others said it should be considered a horror movie instead of a romance because of the situation that Cassie finds herself in not being able to afford the care she needs.
Carson, who is also an executive producer on the film, responded to the criticism late last week, stating that Purple Hearts is “much more” than a love story.
“It’s two hearts, one red, one blue, two worlds apart, who are really raised to hate each other,” she told Variety. “Through the power of love, they learn to lead with empathy and compassion and love each other and turn into this beautiful shade of purple. We wanted to represent both sides as accurately as possible. What I think I’ve learned to do as an artist is separate myself from all of that and just listen to what the world is feeling and reacting to with the film. That has been so beautifully overwhelming and so many people have felt seen or are comforted by this movie. That’s all we could want [as] filmmakers and as artists.”