Hey, just wanted to check in on you after watching Purple Hearts. How are you doing? If you’ve been scrolling through social media this past week, you’ve probably witnessed the heartbreaking reactions from fans of Sofia Carson’s latest romantic drama. We’re here to tell you that everything is going to be OK — and no one’s judging if you’re sobbing along to “Come Back Home.”
In Purple Hearts, we meet aspiring musician Cassie (Sofia Carson), who marries US Marine Luke (Nicholas Galitzine) for health benefits. Despite coming from different backgrounds and political beliefs, the young couple eventually realizes that there’s more that unites than divides them. Although this is a fictional love story, the inspiration behind the romance —and the film’s plot — is true for many.
“Bob Levy, who was running Alloy’s TV business at the time, heard an NPR story about contract military marriages. We thought it was a great starting place for a romance movie,” Purple Hearts producer Leslie Morgenstein told Netflix. Alloy Entertainment, the production company behind the film, went on to produce a romantic book based on the NPR story, which was then adapted as a screenplay.
What exactly is a military contract marriage? As the film portrays, it’s the practice of a service member marrying for additional benefits. They’ll receive an increased allowance, like Luke does in the film, and the spouse will get additional health benefits, just like Cassie. Although this sounds like a sweet gig, it’s considered fraudulent and can result in the prosecution of both the service member and their spouse.
Purple Hearts also references other aspects of the military. The title itself is an ode to the medal of solemn distinction presented to US military members injured or killed in the line of duty. The title also leaves room for another interpretation of the film
“What I would like most for an audience to feel is a social political unity,” Galitzine shares with Netflix. “Just being able to talk and come together and find our similarities is going to be ultimately for the best.” Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum adds, “On paper, Cassie and Luke are radically different, and quite flawed, so it is admittedly a crazy, idealized fantasy that they would actually be able to function as a legitimate couple. But given how fractured the world is right now, I hope audiences can enjoy that fantasy — and maybe sink into the idea a little bit.”
For Carson, the film's leading actor, executive producer and soundtrack writer, Cassie and Luke’s journey is a reflection of the US now. “When I got the script five years ago, the country was already not in a great state politically. We were very divided,” she recently told Tudum. “That's why Liz [Rosenbaum] and I fell so deeply in love with this project because it was a beautiful, sweeping love story. It's about these two people, these two hearts, one red, one blue, who were raised in a divided world, who through the power of love come together to form a purple heart. And it's the message that I think the world needs now more than ever.”
If there’s one thing we can learn from Cassie and Luke, it’s that a little bit of love can go a long way — and maybe defrauding the government is the key to finding your soulmate (HR if you are reading this, we are just kidding).
