The Notebook
(2004)
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A sweeping love story told by a man reading from his faded notebook to a woman in a nursing home. The Notebook follows the lives of two North Carolina teens from very different worlds. Though her upbringing takes places in an antebellum mansion and he grew up in the kind of house where musicians jam on the porch, that doesn't stop Noah and Allie from spending on incredible summer together before they are separated, first by her parents, and then by WW2. |
Screenshots
A shameless tearjerker and as corny as they come, this retro romantic drama skilfully pushes all the right emotional buttons. The movie opens in the present day with elderly James Garner reading to nursing-home resident Gena Rowlands from an old notebook. We then flash back 60 years to the events chronicled in the journal — an ill-starred teenage romance between poor country boy Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the daughter of rich city folk. There are no prizes for guessing the connection between the two couples. Slickly made by Rowlands's son, Nick Cassavetes, the film benefits from uniformly excellent performances from a quality cast that includes Joan Allen and Sam Shepard. Cassavetes should have taken his foot off the slush pedal more often, but if you're in the mood for melodrama, this three-tissue weepie could be just the ticket.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Tear-jerking romantic drama, as seen through rose-coloured filters.