An unabashedly romantic and unadulterated love story that gets it right

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2011)

Classic love stories that lack grit or are "grounded in reality" are rather rare to come by in mainstream Hollywood in the 21st century. The Notebook is a throwback to the days when "serious" love stories were passionate, optimistic affairs devoid of any realist pretences, and this sincerity is by far the movie's biggest draw.
The plot is narrated in flashback by an elderly man at a senior home to an amnesiac lady friend (who happens to be his childhood sweetheart), and the story isn't terribly original – wealthy teenage girl falls in love with a modest but charming local boy during a summer vacation in rural South Carolina, her parents force her to move away, the boy and the girl carry on with their lives until they cross paths years later as adults and rekindle an old flame. The straightforward plot works because this is a movie that knows exactly what it is – a classy sweep-you-off- your-feet romance about two people, and a very solid one at that.
The lead actors are attractive and look the part, while the cast in general fills out its shoes adequately – there isn't any standout that leaves a long-lasting impression, but the same could be said for the characters they're given to work with. The much-needed chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams is there (heck, they hit off a real-life romance once they met on the set, I can only imagine what it must have been like) and their passionate make-out scenes probably justify watching this movie for most folks.
The movie sometimes does feel a bit out of touch with the era it's supposed to be set in if you think about it – after all, I'd expect more than a few disapproving looks if someone publicly made out with his girlfriend before marriage in front of his family and friends back in the 1940s – but it's only a minor gripe. This is also a very beautifully shot film, evoking all the right nostalgia of the classic Hollywood era – making out in the rain, canoeing in a scenic river with swans all around, drives around the lush countryside and, of course, losing virginity in a dilapidated farmhouse (that last example might be a bit tongue-in-cheek). The rich, striking cinematography of the outdoors is also thoroughly soothing and contributes wonderfully to the lovestruck, tipsy mood of the film.
The Notebook is an honest-to-goodness romantic drama that won't disappoint if you're in the mood for watching an all-out love story. And do watch all the way through – the last scene is quite a tearjerker.