The Notebook

(2004)
Nicholas Sparks is carving out a niche for himself as a producer of schmaltzy love stories. 2002s A Walk to Remember certainly was one, though that movie was surprisingly better than I expected it to be. His new piece, The Notebook, looked like his usual treacly blend, but I liked the basic gist in the trailer, which is that an older woman (Gena Rowlands) has Alzheimers, and her husband (James Garner) reads to her from a notebook she kept to remind her of their past together. If that pitch makes you gag, you might as well stop reading right here, because this aint your type of movie. Keep in mind I watched Dawsons Creek for like seven years. Obviously Im up for a good romantic story. And The Notebook is a doozy. I suspect the young and jaded wont care for it, but theyll too busy watching MTVs Beach House and playing Doom 3 to venture out to see this at any rate. And yes, guys, it is a chick-flick, unabashedly so. But Sparks and director Nick Cassavetes at least had the gumption to realize if they were going to go for it that they should pull out all the stops and go all the way. Most of The Notebook takes place in the forties, when Allie (Rachel McAdams, the uber-bitch in Mean Girls) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) meet and fall in love. At key plot turns the movie switches back to Garner and Rowlands, where she invariably asks him what happens next. And so back into the fray we go, following the kids along. As a narrative device it allows the story to show you only the best part and skimp a little on the exposition, which works very well (and the exposition is handled very adroitly in any case). It doesnt hurt that Gosling is developing into a fine young actor (I remember when he was the replacement on Young Hercules, way back when) and McAdams is surprisingly strong here. The storys one of the oldest in the romantic book; wealthy girl falls for guy with nothing, parents intervene. But the plots not the thing in a romance; the romance is, and here they understand that very well. Gosling and McAdams have an undeniable chemistry, and you can see why theyve fallen in love. Particularly endearing is a scene where they attempt to make love for the first time; very well written, shot, and played. Also wonderful, frankly, is the scene where they finally do, and immediately afterward; McAdams is a particular treat there. The whole story is well done, really, and the supporting characters only bolster that, especially Joan Allen, very strong as Allies mother, who is given surprising depth for a heavy. Yeah, its a tearjerker, and yeah, you can sort of see where its going (in a large part because of the story with Garner and Rowlands. For a star-crossed lovers story, the suspense in the youthful half of the story is unusually well maintained). Ill admit my eyes watered up a few times; its an extremely well-done romance, and both the leads play both the euphoria of young love and the pain of separation very convincingly. Garner and Rowlands also get an unexpectedly touching ending, which was nice. Its completely schmaltzy and I doubt any male reading this will want to see the film. But I suspect the women will love it, and it is very well done. I was once again surprised by Sparks work; it will be interesting to see what he does next. But for anyone who has even a little affinity for romances, this ones definitely worth going to see on the big screen. June 26, 2004