The Notebook

Rating 3.5/5

For starters I'll state that I am personally not a fan of most movies based on Nicholas Sparks' books. I feel almost all of them have a tendency to be predictable, contain poorly written dialogue, and are in need of a better cast . Fortunately, the Notebook doesn't seem to fall into as many of the Sparks' traps and cliches, and it is a better movie because of it.

The Notebook begins in a nursing home, which is not exactly where you'd expect a movie in the romance genre to begin. Miss Allie, played by Gena Rowlands, is suffering from dementia and loss of memory. Duke, played by James Garner, is also a nursing home resident and he starts his day by reading to Allie. He reads her a story about two teenagers in the early 1940s and how they fell in love. As Duke reads to Allie, the movie shifts to the 40s, showing the tale that is being told.

Ryan Gosling plays Noah, a romantic teenager of the working class, who has set his sights on a new girl he meets at a carnival. Allie, played by Rachel McAdams, is from a wealthy family, and is put off at first by Noah and his wild antics. Though originally not interested, Allie begins to fall for Noah's charm and they begin a whirlwind romance. By summer's end, the two have confessed their love for one another, but Allie's family is not pleased with the match. Her family whisks her back home, tearing Allie and Noah's relationship in two. As with many love stories, the couple must face many obstacles in order to be with one another. War, money, and heartbreak will stand in their way.

Though I am not a fan of Nicholas Sparks, I do like the Notebook. While watching it, I found myself enjoying it not so much for the plot or the writing, but because of the acting calibre it possesses. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams carry most of the scenes and it is their skill and chemistry that make this movie stand out from the rest of its' genre. There are a few times in the Notebook where I found myself questioning the believability of the dialogue, but the two leads make the lines work, and that's what makes it worth watching. Not to be forgotten are the performances by James Garner and Gena Rowlands. Both do a fantastic job in their scenes together, and they are definitely the reason many people say that they cry watching the Notebook.

With the way the scenes switch back and forth from Duke reading, to the 1940s depiction of the tale, the Notebook puts its' own spin on the commonly used flashback technique. The Notebook has definitely proven itself to be one of the most popular movie romances of the current film era and I would highly recommend that anyone watch this before any of the other Sparks movies.