THE LOST HUSBAND

THE LOST HUSBAND is a romantic drama about Libby whose husband died in car accident, leaving her to provide and parent for their two children alone. Libby seeks out shelter at her Aunt Jean’s home in central Texas, where she slowly learns about her past and where she wants to go in her future. THE LOST HUSBAND has a mixed worldview with some positive moral elements but sadly features some occult behavior from a supporting character, including a séance and palm reading. Along with some foul language and other miscellaneous immorality, Movieguide® recommends strong caution for teenagers and adults.

The movie opens with Libby, a widow, and her two children drive to a farm in central Texas owned by her Aunt Jean. Libby recently lost her husband to a car accident, forcing her to pick herself up again after that tragedy. At the farm, Libby meets O’Connor, the farm handyman who teaches her the ropes of all things farming.

At first, O’Connor is skeptical that Libby is capable, but eventually sees that she enjoys the simple life. The pair have a sweet friendship and accidentally get locked into a freezer together at one point early on in the movie. Later, at the farmer’s market where they’re selling their goods, O’Connor kisses Libby in front of some old pals of hers that gossip behind her back. A romantic connection between the two seems fitting.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Sunshine befriends Libby but she’s odd in the sense that she likes to read peoples’ palms. In later scenes, after learning how to farm a bit herself, Sunshine takes Libby to an abandoned house on the farm’s property and conjures a séance with candles so that Libby can talk to her dead husband and clear the air. Libby does and says the next morning that she feels better.

At Jean’s birthday party, which functions more like a town event, Libby learns that O’Connor has an interesting backstory. O’Connor’s ex-wife left him for another man five years into their marriage. O’Connor didn’t want a divorce but relented, and then, she became sick. He travels to take care of her throughout the movie.

To top off everything, Libby’s mother tries to convince Libby and her children to live at her house because she looks down on her sister Jean and her “small” life. Libby’s mother is clearly self-absorbed and controlling. Libby doesn’t agree to her mother’s request but does discover that, for the first four years of her life, her Aunt Jean took care of her in the abandoned house on the property because Libby’s mother abandoned her.

The movie ends with a doable ending that shows both O’Connor and Libby as they turn a new page.

THE LOST HUSBAND has the feel of a Hallmark movie. There’s romance, a little bit of comedy and some drama. Ultimately, however, the movie is unsatisfying because some elements seem a bit random, which is perhaps due to the fact that it’s a book adaptation. The three leads, Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, Nora Dunn, do a standup job in their roles. In fact, the entire movie seems to communicate that both Libby and O’Connor needed to get their lives together in order to be a couple and start afresh. To add to the positive elements, the costuming and music are well done.

THE LOST HUBAND has a mixed worldview with some morally uplifting content, such as commitment to once’s marriage, helping others and conversations about forgiveness, but the movie also features many occult elements like a séance and palm reading. The movie would’ve better been served if the characters looked to faith for healing instead of witchcraft. So MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong caution because of this, brief foul language and other miscellaneous immorality.