Perhaps the Greatest Love Story of Our Generation!

Rating: 9/10 (17 October 2014)

As a guy, I generally try to stay away from Nicholas Sparks movies because they seem too schmaltzy and tripe for my taste. I do have a sweet spot for romance, but just not in these kind of films. Then I was forced to watch this film, The Notebook. I'm glad I did because this is the greatest love story of my generation perhaps only rivaling Titanic (please don't judge me.) This period piece also features memorable characters whom truly draw you in and I also mention this has one of the greatest film endings in cinema history and one that made the film even more remarkable. There are some clichés to be had, but in the end the film is just a simple love story.
This film starts off in modern day at a nursing home with this elderly man named Duke reading a romance story to a female patient. This story is about how a working class man named Noah who falls in love with a girl named Allie, a girl from the elite class. Despite their social differences, they spend every day together. But they end up separating anyhow because of their different statuses. But seven years later, fate has them meeting up again but this time under different scenarios.
This film is well-acted by everyone. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams make a magnificent pair together on-screen and this movie is responsible for their stardom. There are good supporting turns by Sam Shepard as Noah's supportive father and Joan Allen as Allie's cold, stern mother. But we cannot miss the performances of the great James Garner as Duke and Gena Rowland as the female patient.
Overall, Nick Cassevete directed a magnificent romance film and from what I heard, the best book-to-screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks. This film is also realistic as it effectively shows what history was like and how social interactions changed over the past seventy years. I may have to check out more Sparks films, but I'm sure they are not even close to living up to the Notebook. And yes, I nearly cried at certain points. I rate this film 9/10.