Some films make you laugh. Some films make you cry. “The Notebook” is one of those films that does both.
Starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, this 2004 romance drama stunningly depicts the experience of long-lasting and rebellious teenage love.
The story, told by an older man, is written in a notebook that he is reading. Noah, played by Gosling, and Allie, played by McAdams, fall in love during the 1940s. Allie catches Noah’s eye, and he fights hard for her to let him take her on a date. Eventually, she lets him take her out and they fall in love immediately. The two are inseparable. However, Allie’s mother and father do not approve of this love because they are wealthy while Noah is not. Because of this, when Allie goes off to college and Noah writes her letters, she never receives them causing her to think Noah doesn’t love her.
These are the main points of the first part of the film. It is just a classic love story which many people tend to love. Though, as the film progresses, viewers get a better sense of the drama aspect.
A war happens in the film and Noah fights in it. Allie meets someone and sometime after the war they get engaged. However, this doesn’t stop Noah. Noah keeps the promises he made to Allie, and she sees him appear in the news. She visits him and they reignite some past feelings.
The story soon after comes to a close and it is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever watched. I love how the film feels authentic and not made up. It feels as if it was a true story that really happened to Noah and Allie. And the directors and writers did a fantastic job grasping the feeling that the setting is older than now.
The movie was a phenomenal representation of the teenage romance that people tend to think of. If someone had seen the movie, I believe they would picture it as one of the best love stories made into a film along with movies of the same genre: “The Fault in Our Stars”, “Me Before You”, and “Remember Me”.
I 100% recommend this movie to anyone who is intrigued by love stories, especially old ones. It will forever remain a classic and timeless movie.
“The Notebook” was a success at the box office, grossing at about $117 million even though production only cost $29 million. In 2005, “The Notebook” won the Screen Actors Guild Award. The film is still streaming on Netflix. It is also available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
