An intimate and engrossing love story

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2004)

After reading the book I was sure that my review of the film would be slightly skewed due to the fact that I had read the book two days before the sneak preview. Of course, I was wrong. My reactions of and during the film were the same of two friends who came along. Spark's story has brought forth a romance film so desperately needed during a season of body bronzer and car chases.
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams prove to be a breath of fresh air next to films with stars who are true staples of box-office success. Gosling, who has usually leaned towards complex characters like a Jewish neo-Nazi in "The Believer" and a teen guilty of homicide in "Murder by Numbers" proves that he can more than hold his own in completely foreign film territory: romance. In a very Julianne Moore way, he has the power to convey pages of dialogue through simple looks and is surprisingly talented at finding comedy in certain lines and carries it off with a sort of accidental charm. Rachel McAdams, most known for her recent role as a teen queen in "Mean Girls" gives a truly charismatic performance and establishes a both multi-dimensional and personal character, which makes the viewer thankful that she beat out the likes of Britney Spears for the role.
All in all, Nicolas Sparks has provided summer movie-goers with a lovely story about first, enduring, and everlasting love.