The film feels like an uncomfortable hodgepodge of styles and tones - gritty and realistic when it's following Ryan, awkwardly staged when it's following Jackie.

If a film based on author Nicholas Sparks' work is like an over-produced power ballad with a 128-piece orchestra, writer/director Ami Canaan Mann's "Jackie & Ryan" is the non-ironic acoustic guitar cover of the same tune.

"Jackie & Ryan" may prove too low-key and deliberately paced for less patient viewers, but distinct pleasures are to be had from this compactly shot film's easy rhythms, affecting tone and nicely modulated performances.

[Jackie & Ryan] is about a pair of struggling people trying hard to make everything alright.