A Review by Phil Calabro
2004, New Line Cinema, Dir. Nick Cassavetes, Starring Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Sam Shepard, David Thorton, Joan Allen
While watching the trailer, it seems that The Notebook seems to promise absolutely nothing new, but this only turns out to be half right. Since half of it is just the basic Hollywood romance tripe we've already seen before, the other half is a genuinely beautiful love story. However, it's very hard to sit through the film, mostly because its storyline tends to become a bit predictable and tedious, though the acting and few twists save it in spots.
We find ourselves with an old couple, with the male named Duke (Garner), reading a story to the female (Rowlands). The story is of the love between Noah (Gosling) and Allie (McAdams), who happen to meet and fall in love serendipitely at a carnival. Although Allie is brought up from a very rich family, and Noah works at the lumber yard, they are practically inseperable. Until one day, Allie leaves town, perhaps never to see Noah again. During this time, Noah writes one letter a day to Allie as well as building his dream house, in hopes of seeing her again some day. During this period of time, Allie falls in love with a young man named Lon (Marsden), and they are engaged to each other. But it is only a little while from the wedding before Allie decided to go see Noah, perhaps for the first or last time.
The acting is well executed, with Gosling just fit to a T as the young farm boy Noah. His simplicity, his Southern demeanor, and his 'aw shucks' attitude is cliched but works. Hopefully we will see more in line for his career. McAdams once again shines brightly as Allie; McAdams has a wonderful career ahead of her, from her excellent stint as a bitch in Mean Girls, to her love-struck Southern girl in The Notebook. She has a multifaceted set of characters to boast on her resume.
Of course, this film gets a wee bit too predictable. Within half an hour, we already can tell the identities of the old couple in the movie, as well as the way the story is going to end. It felt about one ounce two Disneyesque, and a lot less Minghella-esque. I just hope that somebody out on the market will make a fully realistic romance novel, ditching cliches for real people and situations. Not to mention some scenes drag on like an sloth on NyQuil, with us sitting in our seats hoping that you don't run out of popcorn before the scene ends.
But I can't stay too angry - people knew this would be a chick flick romance film, and that's what they'll get. It works for half the time, the other half lies dead on its feet. But if you're looking for a partially worthwhile summer film, The Notebook may just be for you. It wasn't a total waste of my time, and it shouldn't be for you either.
2.5/4 stars
