'The Notebook' is, quite simply, a truly beautiful love story. More convincing than 'Titanic's' romance

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2007)

Three quarters of the movie shows the relationship between young lovers Noah and Allie, played truthfully by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, who generate sizzling chemistry and share a romance ten times more beautiful, believable and fulfilling than Jack and Rose in 'Titanic'. When drawing comparisons, you always sensed that the tragedy of the ship sinking would tear Jack and Rose apart forever, whereas in this movie, every moment Noah and Allie are not together, you long for them to be and know deep down they will be again. Also unlike Titanic, The Notebook focuses solely on their unconditional and passionate love and isn't overshadowing any other story going on in it. This makes you root for the lovers to be together even more.
Even though you hate to admit it, you end up not completely hating the two main obstacles in the way of them continuing their relationship. Firstly, there is Allie's mother, Anne, played with a strong sincerity by Joan Allen. At the beginning, her ranting about the 'unsuited' couple makes you assume she genuinely just looks down on Noah because he's not good enough, however by the end of the movie, the audience learns there is more to her objection than she initially shows. Secondly, there is Allie's fiancée Lon, whom she has met 7 years after her break-up with Noah. Now because he is played so sympathetically by handsome actor James Marsden, when Allie is left to make her decision between the two guys, you end up feeling sorry for him because he seems genuinely in love with her despite knowing she spent a weekend with Noah. Nevertheless, you never get the sense of him being her soul-mate, at all. In spite of his love for her, he just always strikes you as the guy who the girl's parents approve of and is very wealthy. Whereas in the first half of the movie, you're desperate for her to stay with Noah because they learn a lot from each other, can be free when together and she continues to love him despite parental objections. Moreover, considering Allie's unfaithfulness when she visits Noah, she's lucky that Lon expresses any sort of loving feeling for her at all after he finds out.
James Marsden didn't get a lot of screen time but still made a decent subtle impact when he had the chance, although like I pointed out before, Lon's love for Allie doesn't compare to Noah's and Noah does so many things throughout the movie to prove the depth of his feelings. Sam Shepard brings some comic relief into the role of Noah's father and David Thornton has a very limited role as Allie's father but still impresses and doesn't play the character with straightforward hatred towards Noah. A special mention goes to Gena Rowlands (the director's mother) and James Garner who star as the older Allie and Noah, and generally act in the scenes where you need to reach for the tissues the most. My only concern is that neither one, James in particular, struck me as an older version of Rachel and Ryan! But their heartbreaking portrayals overshadowed this problem.
And last of all, the best thing about this movie is the undeniable chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. I mean seriously, they weren't even dating until the year after they made the movie, but their moments together felt so natural that I actually believed it was the actors falling in love, not just the characters. Ryan does a complete turnaround from his sinister brilliance in 'Murder by Numbers' and is flawless playing the devoted guy who wins the girl's heart. You would seriously think he'd played romantic leads beforehand, he is such a gentleman in this movie and very sexy, so it's not hard to believe that a lot of girls along with Allie fell in love with him watching him in this movie. Rachel brings a stunning beauty to the screen and like Ryan, pulls off changing from a sweet lovelorn teenager to an older, more serious person. Memorable scenes are the ones showing Noah and Allie dating through the summer and they can't keep away from each other, and of course the scene in the rain set seven years later.
To sum up, there is amazing acting from everyone, stunning cinematography, a heartbreaking developing story and two very gorgeous leads playing an unforgettable movie couple - perhaps the best couple ever screened. I was impressed, and hopefully you will be too! A can't stop watching the DVD it is that amazing!