A smart movie inhabited by real people

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2005)

"The Notebook" can easily appear to be a typical Hollywood movie, but it's a smart movie inhabited by real people, and that is why it is worth watching.
The story is the typical formula "boy meets girl, and at first they're happy, but then stuff happens, and there's a big surprise ending." Even the fact that the story is told, in large part, from the perspective of an old man isn't very original. What makes this a smart movie is that it assumes we know the formula, and it doesn't try to hide from it. It faces the challenge head-on, as if to say, "we are going to do such a good job of telling this typical Hollywood story that you won't care that it's been told a million times before." Most strikingly, the film recognizes that even though the story contains A BIG REVELATION, most people are going to figure it out half way through the movie, so there's no point in going to ridiculous lengths to hide it.
While the story is typical, the actors and characters are not. Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, as the romantic leads, play their parts with utter sincerity and believability. The characters are likable, not because they're hilarious, or perfect, but because they are normal goofy people, with their share of likability and good looks, balanced by imperfections. Their relationships to each other and to their families are just like real life--they fight, and they make out, all in the same day. The parents are not just parents--they are real people, with the same range of emotions and personality traits as any other person.
For me (a 25-year-old, recently married male) all this added up to me identifying very strongly with the characters in this film, while not being distracted by clichés.