Then and now

Rating: 6/10 (27 September 2013)

The Notebook is set in two time frames. There is the present day setting in a nursing home where James Garner is telling a romance story to Gena Rowlands who is a dementia patient.
The story he tells from a notebook is about a young country boy (Ryan Gosling) having a romance with a socialite played by Rachel McAdams. The social divide keeps them apart before World War 2 intervenes.
The past and present then mesh as we realise the fate of the characters. It is well acted, well have you ever seen James Garner give a duff performance?
For Ryan Gosling who may be one of the most edgiest actors in Hollywood at the moment, he plays probably his most normal character yet.
The initial flashbacks are a bit corny but once it gets going it has a charm of its own.