The Notebook - Review

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2013)

The Notebook IMDb Review
The movie starts out in a nursing home with an elderly man, Duke (James Garner) reading to an elderly woman (Gena Rowlands) from a notebook. A love story which so happens to be their own love story.
Staged in the 1940's this romantic drama showcases a poor boy, Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) who has fallen in love with a rich girl, Alison (Allie) Hamilton (Rachel McAdams). Although in the beginning, when they meet at a carnival, Alison wants nothing to do with Noah, it's only a short time before their summer romance is in full force. Noah's had to work for everything his whole life and Alison has the world at her feet. Noah and Allie are separated by her parents at the end of summer when they move away. Noah writes Allie everyday for a year but Allie's mother intercepts the letters which leads Allie to go on with her life and eventually fall in love with Lon Hammond (James Marsdon). While engaged to Lon, Allie runs across a newspaper story that features Noah and his completion of the Windsor Plantation that he had promised her he would do someday. After passing out from the surprise of the article and continued contemplation, she decides to go back to Seabrook to make sure Noah is OK and find closure with their relationship before she gets married to Lon. As a result, she is faced head on with the feelings that never went away, and found out the truth about Noah's letters. As they take a few days to reminisce about their true love, they end up making love to each other. Although Allie is confused she ends up choosing Noah over Lon, as she knows that is where her heart is.
Back at the nursing home, elderly Allie (Gena Rowlands) has dementia and as Duke (James Garner) reads the story to her, she is able to remember the story and fall in love with Noah all over again, but only for a few moments before she is stricken with her memory loss one again and forgets everything. In the end, they both die peacefully together holding hands.
This film has a similar theme to that of Dear John and The Vow. Love Conquers All.
The lighting in the movie was fantastic. I loved how the lighting was warm and showed off the summer romance. I also enjoyed the the passion and laughter in the movie and how it was all set in the 1940's with the costumes and the music. It made me wish I had lived during that time.