The Notebook may have been the perfect movie for me and my fiancé to watch on Valentine’s Day. Directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the book by Nicholas Sparks, it tells one of the best love stories put to film in recent memory (if not the best). No, I’m not saying it was the best romance movie. Rather, it just had the most romantic story. The primary cast members of Ryan Gosling, Rachel MacAdams, James Garner and (especially) Gena Rowland contributed to this.
The movie began in a nursing home, a backdrop I’m all too familiar with. The narrator was meeting his dementia-stricken wife to read her the story of how they met and fell in love as a way of reminding her of who she was and himself as well. Most of the story was told in flashback after that, starting with how they met when they both were 17 at a carnival. Over time, they were torn apart by being in two separate classes (with her being the child of rich socialites and him working in a lumber yard). Heck, she even fell for another guy. Essentially, it was a Romeo and Juliet story where they didn’t have to kill themselves to be together.
All in all, the biggest thing to comment on about this movie is the storyline. It was the most beautiful—and most tragic—love story I’ve seen on film in a long time. On one hand, seeing that their love was still as strong as ever in their later years was extremely romantic. And on the other hand, it was hard not to tear up in the end either. This isn’t Twilight. And this isn’t There’s Something About Mary. The movie relies on the emotional connection the audience develops with the characters.
And in doing so, the movie used its casts to help drive the point home. The supporting actors were all adequate, but there wasn’t anything special with any of them. Each of the main actors carried this picture, especially Gena Rowland. I referenced this earlier, but her performance as the older Allie was not just the best performance in this movie (to me)—but also one of the best things about the movie in general. Too bad, she had the smallest role of the four main actors in this movie.
Overall, I felt his movie was really good. Nick Cassavetes is no Martin Scorcese, and he’s no Steven Spielberg. But his directing was adequate enough. It was good enough for the story he had to tell. It was good enough to earn four out of five stars.