Beautiful Film

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2005)

I went to watch "The Notebook" because my girlfriend had read the book and asked me to come watch it with her. Being a guy who does not enjoy romantic movies very much I was very reluctant about seeing this film. However, I can honestly say that I was blown away by this beautifully written, acted, and directed movie. I had only seen Ryan Gosling in one other movie, "Murder by Numbers", and was impressed by his performance in an otherwise forgettable picture. He has a great charisma and on-stage presence that few other actors have. Similarly, Rachel McAdams truly shines here in her breakout role as a rich southern girl who falls in love with Gosling's character. Not to be outdone by their younger counter-parts, Gena Rowlands and James Garner are also excellent in this film.
There are many things that I truly enjoyed about "The Notebook", most notably the simple but poignant love story between Noah and Allie. I think one of the hardest things to do in a film is to show true love, which is so rare in real life, and thus extremely difficult to replicate on screen. Nick Cassavetes does an exceptional job of presenting the story without any sappy or phony elements that would have made the film cheap and predictable. Instead, he allows Gosling and McAdams to become the characters of Noah and Allie and they take it from there. Their performances are truly outstanding, I could honestly feel the love between them in every scene. This was a completely new experience for me because I rarely watch romantic films, and even more rarely find them to be believable.
I would recommend this film to everyone, both male and female. I know that most guys will be hesitant to watch this movie, but they should not be. If you've ever been in love, and if you've ever felt about someone like you've never felt about anyone else, you will enjoy "The Notebook". And even if you've never been in love I think that you will find this movie to be an honest and sincere story about two people that never stopped loving each other until their very last moments together.