The Notebook

Hit Starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Sam Shepard, Joan Allen, James Marsden

The story begins with an older gentleman reading “The Notebook,” to an old woman in a nursing home. “The Notebook,” follows the story of two young lovers Allie (McAdams) and Noah (Gosling). Their love is separated by her disapproving parents. 7 years later, Allie is engaged to an army soldier, yet she still unsatisfied by where her life has taken her. She returns to Seabrook to find Noah in search for the meaning of true love.

If only the story was as simple as boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. This plot would have satisfied me, but the story goes beyond this simple plot line and touches on so many emotions it is outrageous. Although I found the ending extremely sad (for those of you who know people with the sickness that Gena Rowlands character is suffering from you will understand) yet I really enjoyed the whole movie and even found myself wanting to watch the story again days later.

Let’s talk about Ryan Gosling. Mr. Gosling creates an extremely lovable Noah character. He performs on target, the women of the world respond, and instantly fall in love with this character he has created. And I am sure some women will not be able to separate the real Ryan Gosling from his fictional portrayal of Noah Calhoun. This may cause problems for his personal life. But it is just too bad that he is a good actor and he has a pretty face. I guess one should be so lucky. Nice work Mr. Gosling, I really enjoyed your performance and your ability to dress the set with your handsome face.

Rachel McAdams. Bottom line: Love her. She was great in Mean Girls and I really liked to see her transform from the Mean Girl character to a fun loving debutante. Her on-screen beauty is so captivating and so real I feel that she would be georgous in any costume or character. Her portrayal of Allie was everything I would have pictured Allie (the book character) to be. It is nice to see someone who has a captivating talent for theatre. I hope to see more of her and more of Ryan. They are a dynamic duo.

Other actors that added to the greatness of this movie include: Sam Shepard (if you have read Buried Child you know that this is indeed the same Sam Shepard- apparently he can do everything well), Gena Rowlands provides a heart-breaking performance as does James Garner, James Marsden is a nice addition to the cast (plus he is quite good looking), and lastly, the great Joan Allen who is an actress to be clearly remembered and honored.

Bottom Line: Rent this movie ASAP! And don’t forget the tissues.

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality.
Drama / Romance
Running Time: 2 hours 1 minute