Any moviegoer hoping to see a heartwarming tale should look no further than the 2004 hit movie, The Notebook. The movie tells us about Noah and Allie, the love they have for each other and the trials and tribulations they endure as individuals and as a couple.
While alternating between their current lives together and the beginning of their relationship, the audience is taken on a journey that lets us know that true love can never be forgotten.
In present day, Duke a.k.a. Noah (James Garner) and Allie (Gena Rowlands) are in a nursing facility. Suffering from dementia, Allie has moments of clarity where she can remember different parts of her life, including Noah, their children and things that she once did such as play the piano.
However, during times when her memory has faded, Noah reads to her from a notebook (hence the title of the movie) that tells the story of how they met and the years following, in hopes that it will jar her memory, if only for a few moments.
The story that Noah tells begins in the summer of 1940 in Seabrook, South Carolina. A young Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) meets Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams), a young socialite whose parents (played by Joan Allen and David Thornton) are extremely wealthy.
After a whirlwind romance, Allie’s parents insist that she return to New York in order to attend college and leave Noah behind. Over time Allie begins a new life for herself while Noah joins the armed forces during World War II and eventually returns to Seabrook to rebuild the dream home that he had promised Allie years earlier.
Will Noah and Allie live happily ever after? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out. However, “The Notebook” proves you can focus on powerful storytelling without the glitz and glam of special effects or car chases. With an excellent cast, you feel drawn into this compelling story and actually care about what is happening with each of the characters, whether it’s good times or bad.
Some movies can be confusing while switching back and forth from past to present. “The Notebook” is not one of them. Although you can pretty much figure out where these characters have ended up, it’s a nice “journey” to see how they’ve gotten there.
One thing that could have been added to the movie was Allie’s reaction to being in New York and not hearing from Noah, even though the audience knows he’s written to her everyday for a year.
We hear in conversation later in the movie that she cried herself to sleep, but we never really saw any reaction during that time. Also her parents’ reactions when she made her final decision would have been a satisfying touch.
For a heartwarming and enlightening story of the survival of love, make sure you watch “The Notebook”. Don’t forget to keep the box of tissues handy!
