I...am a man! Must....not....cry....*snif*....*snif*

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2007)

Everyone has been in love at least once in their lives, so why on earth is it difficult to craft a respectable love story? Over the years, it becomes harder and harder to find a good film about love and all its consequences. Even Titanic, the ultimate chick flick, is a disaster for multiple reasons. The romantic drama is a genre with a bad reputation because the genre always gets riddled with movies full of clichés, predictability, bad acting, bad dialogue, and the inability to tug at your emotions. For every Beauty and the Beast, you have three terrible romantic movies. For every Ghost, Sleepless in Seattle, Princess Bride, you have dozens of monstrosities. Enter The Notebook.
The Notebook is a successful adaptation of a best-selling book by Nicholas Sparks, who is also responsible for A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle (the man apparently knows how to appeal to the females). Becoming strongly notorious for bringing out the lovey-dovey in every couple and even more notorious for emotionally destroying females everywhere, The Notebook easily stands as one of the greatest romantic films within the past decade. Becoming everything Titanic wishes it was, this movie is coupled with excellent acting, good dialogue, nicely woven plots, good direction, and good cinematography. Equipped with a good score, nice jazz songs, and a satisfactory ending, this movie will reach out for your heart and will force you to hold a box of tissues throughout the two hours. The surprise success comes with very good reason, for it is a movie that all of those losing faith in love should watch. We all know how difficult love is, especially nowadays in this seemingly cruel and twisted world.
It is actually two stories in one. The first is an elderly man named Duke reading a book to this seemingly depressed elderly woman by the name of Allie who looks like she just wants to spend the rest of her life away from everyone else. The story Duke is reading is about a couple (Noah and Allie) whom have to separate after a perfect summer because of differing futures, the parents of the girl, and their social class differences. Both of them move on, but neither of the two ever wants to move past their love for each other; even when they are seen with other people living different lives. The ultimate test occurs when one of the two is actually about to marry. The Notebook switches between the story and what is going on with Duke and Allie. What keeps this movie fresh and different from the others is that it's actually two stories in one, and both are equally heartbreaking and touching. While it could have benefited from releasing more details about certain elements in the movie, the screenplay was excellent and moved at a respectable pace; all thanks to Jan Sardi and Jeremy Laden.
Directing and acting are the two strongest portions of the movie. Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, John Q) does a wonderful job progressing the story without being too slow, or too fast. He focuses less on the physical aspects of the relationships and more on the dialogue, more on the emotional aspects, which is a rarity and ends up portraying a much more realistic couple. Complimenting the directing is the cinematography, which shows some beautiful scenery, most notably a scene at a lake full of elegant birds. Rachel MacAdams and Ryan Gosling seem pretty much meant for each other. Their passion towards each other, and their anger towards the cruelty of the environment around them is nearly flawless; every line is delivered well and never crosses into cheesy. The supporting cast is also delightful, most particularly James Garner as the very friendly and patient Duke.
Many themes of love are explored here: which includes never forgetting your first love, how love can and will prevail through all obstacles, and how love brings out the best and the worst in you. From the mental and physical breakdown of Noah in the later years to the bitterness that follows the mysterious Allie, love can build you up and tear you apart in a matter of seconds. A major rarity shown in The Notebook is that love is imperfect, and that is shown through the constant arguing between the main characters in the story. Finally, The Notebook isn't as predictable as other romantic flicks, even though they did drop far too many clues and the ending is revealed before it can come and shock you. Nonetheless, the movie ends in a very bittersweet note, so save plenty of tissue paper for the final scene.
Bottom Line: Instant classic romantic movie, because they are so hard to find. When you find a movie that can make you smile, cry, waste tissue paper, and hold your loved one for moments longer afterwards, you've found a good movie. The Notebook has very few flaws, it is indeed a very good movie. The love amongst the main characters is far from cheesy and clichéd. This along with Eternal Sunshine (excellent 2004 romantic drama, totally recommend) stands as the perfect 1-2 romantic drama punch of the decade; they are the best love stories in recent years. A package of good acting, good writing, good directing, and good musical score makes this a must-own if you love these kinds of movies. Breathing some life into the dying genre, The Notebook succeeds as a total tear-jerker; whether you are a male or a female, whether you are single or taken, and whether you have a heart or not.