The ending makes more than up for occasional weaknesses from the previous 90 minutes

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2017)

"The Notebook" is an American 2-hour movie from 2004, so this one is also already way over a decade old now. It is considered to be a defining movie of the 21st century when it comes to romance, heart-throb and cheering for the characters to become a couple. Lead actors Gosling and McAdams were a couple themselves back then and their performances in this movie made it possibly hard to believe that they split up sooner than later. Many still remember that kiss at the MTV Movie Awards as something truly special that no other awards show from that year had to offer. But first things first: The director is Nick Cassavetes and he is the son of Gena Rowlands who plays a major supporting character here. Another major supporting character is played by the late James Garner. He received an SAG Award nomination for his portrayal and this may have been the closest he ever got to becoming an Oscar nominee, at the tender age of 75 and after almost 50 years in the industry already. The four actors I just mentioned are probably what you can consider the core of the film, the heart and soul. Connolly adds some solid scenes in the first half, Schaff in the second half. These 120 minutes are certainly the most known work for Cassavetes as well as for the two writers Leven and Sardi, even if one of them received an Oscar nomination for the Oscar-winning "Shine".
So yeah, this film here is really really famous to this day. It was not as much as a box office success as you may think, but still made roughly 50 million more than it cost. I'd imagine it to be a huge magnet for couples, but apparently many of the guys refused to join their girlfriends and it is definitely a movie that is appreciated more by females than by males, possibly because the concept of eternal love and mastering all the hurdles on the path to happiness is a plot subject that female audiences appreciate more with their approach to romance. Anyway, I quite enjoyed the watch here. I do believe the first 90 minutes of the film had occasional struggles in terms of coherent and realistic story-telling, but there were also scenes that made more than up for it, for example the meeting high up in the air when he asks her for a date facing somewhat playfully the danger of suicide. This was one of my favorite scenes from the Gosling/McAdams moments. The short inclusion of war was a bit random as it was too much of an important subject to be rushed in, even if something crucial happens there and it's fine I guess as the story is about love and not politics or war. And besides, it helped putting the film into perspective in terms of what time we were at what point in the movies. There were other good and not so good scenes and it probably depends on your personal preference which ones you like more and which ones will do nothing for you. For McAdams, it has been a pretty good year recently as she managed her first Oscar nomination and Gosling seems on course to winning his first Golden Globe this year, which means the protagonists in this film are far from forgotten.
And this especially includes the previously mentioned James Garner, who left us a very touching portrayal of an old man struggling with his place in life now that his beloved wife seems to forget him because of dementia/Alzheimer's. These moments when she remembers him are still what he has that connects the two (apart from the children of course) and what makes his life worth living in the face of his own health problems. I personally do not think that the plot twist about who the old people are is what the movie is about because it can be understood and predicted quickly anyway. It is much more about who they have become and the glorious and happy moments take place in the years that we do not see on screen. What we see is just how they got together / are together. So yeah, the last 20 minutes or so have to be among the most touching stuff you will see from the 21st century. Garner shines and Rowlands plays her part very well too. And the story will certainly make your eyes wet. Nicholas Sparks at his best (apart from A Walk to Remember possibly, one of my favorite films of all time). What can I say? You have to experience it yourself to feel the pain, but also to feel the positive moments that make love the best thing in the world. I also believe that these final moments of the film show us how good the flashbacks were and that they did leave a mark for sure, even if you may not have felt it as strongly while watching these scenes from the 1940s and 1950s for example. You may not be amazed by what you see there, but it's essential to really appreciate the ending. Overall, I think this was a film that is good throughout the entirety and turns great at the end, which makes it one of 2004's best. Of course, I connected especially strongly with the film as I find Alzheimer one of the saddest things ever, but still it was an extremely rewarding watch and it's impossible to not feel anything while seeing it. I highly recommend to see it (if there's still people out there who haven't). And make sure you have your girl next to you and lots of tissues.