The Notebook is the story of Noah (James Garner, Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams), and their love as told by old Noah to old Allie. The story of the two begins in the summer of the early 1940’s, when the blue collared Noah goes out of his way to get the wealthy Allie to go on a date with him.
Over the course of that summer, the two fall in love, but are torn apart when Allie and her family return home from their summer vacation. After writing Allie for 365 straight days, and receiving no answer, Noah signs up for the military and sees action during World War II.
Allie falls in love with another man, a wealthy man (played by James Marsden), whom she ends up becoming engaged too. Upon completion of his duty in WWII and following the death of his father, Noah builds the mansion he had promised Allie during that Summer over seven years earlier.
Days before her wedding, Allie sees Noah’s picture in the newspaper, a picture of Noah and the house, and goes to see him. The love the two had returns, and Allie is left with a decision to make… Noah or her fiance.
The entire movie is being told by James Garner, playing the older Noah, to Gena Rowlands, playing the older Allie, at a nursing home for Allie has Alzheimer’s disease. It is in the nursing home that the movie concludes and really comes together in what women will feel is an extremely happy, yet very sad, ending.
In that regards, guys should feel the same way. It’s a tear-jerker for girls and sensitive guys, and just a good movie for guys who aren’t sensitive.
The Notebook gets a four out of five: GREAT.
