Hate to admit it, but I love this movie

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2010)

Let me be upfront and say that I am a guy. This is not my kind of movie. I don't do sudsy melodramas, which this most definitely is. I don't like chick flicks either, which this also is. I don't care if this is a well made movie. Doesn't matter. End of story.
Okay, fine. I liked this movie. A lot. It may be one of the most manipulative good movies out there, but if it works, who cares? This is plain and simply a wonderful movie.
Based on the Nicholas Sparks' novel of the same name, "The Notebook" tells two stories. One is of a summer fling between mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and rich girl Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams). The other is of an elderly man named Duke (James Garner) who is reading this story to a present day Allie (Gena Rowlands, mother of director Nick Cassevetes). But how are these two stories connected.
The answer is of course fairly obvious, and the movie wisely doesn't try to hide that fact. The film's real focus is the romance between Noah and Allie, and everything that comes between them.
The film works because of the strong performances and the equally strong direction. To say that Ryan Gosling is an unconventional leading man in this kind of a film is an understatement. Gosling burst onto the film scene in a riveting performance as a Jewish neo-nazi in "The Believer," and went on to play two other creeps and killers before landing this role. Gosling stays true to form and does not approach the role in a conventional way. He's not a model and doesn't pretend to be, but his subtle free spirit energy works, and makes him quite literally impossible not to like. Rachel McAdams is equal to him. She's a rich girl that spurns off his random advances, but Noah doesn't stop, and when she finally humors him, she realizes that, gosh darn it, she actually likes the guy.
Gosling and McAdams are supported by a strong cast of noted character actors. James Garner couldn't possibly be more endearing, willing to give up everything to be with Allie, who is slipping further and further into dementia. Likewise, Gena Rowlands is terrific as the elderly Allie, who is revisiting this story for the first time. Joan Allen is wonderfully wicked as Allie's conservative mother, who is trying to keep Allie from seeing Noah. It's a clichéd role, but Allen imbues it with so much life that the character becomes just as three-dimensional as everyone else. James Marsden is surprisingly good as Allie's new lover, rich boy Lon Hammond. Unlike many romantic complications, he's actually likable (in fact, one could make the argument that he's more likable than Noah at times). Marsden's range is quite limited, but this is his best performance. Sam Shepard is also on hand in a small role as Noah's father, but it's a good performance nonetheless.
Nick Cassevetes has done the impossible: he's made a weeper that will appeal to those who don't prefer to watch movies with a tissue at hand. He does this by taking the melodrama as far as it can go without going overboard, and by establishing a nostalgic tone for the film. Watching the movie is like watching old home movies and revisiting fond memories of the past. The film is photographed by Robert Fraisse, who gives each beautiful shot its dreamy tone.
Sometimes guys must be dragged by their girlfriends to see romance movies. Although they may put up a fight to see this one, they will probably like it as much as I did (whether they will admit it is open to question).