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'The Notebook" cuts between the same couple at two seasons in their lives. We see them in the urgency of young romance, and then we see them as old people, she disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer's, he steadfast in his love. It is his custom every day to read to her from a notebook that tells the story of how they met and fell in love and faced obstacles to their happiness. Sometimes, he says, if only for a few minutes, the clouds part and she is able to remember who he is and who the story is about.

We all wish Alzheimer's could permit such moments. For a time, in the earlier stages of the disease, it does. But when the curtain comes down, there is never another act and the play is over. "The Notebook" is a sentimental fantasy, but such fantasies are not harmful; we tell ourselves stories every day, to make life more bearable. The reason we cried during " Terms of Endearment " was not because the mother was dying, but because she was given the opportunity for a dignified and lucid parting with her children. In life it is more likely to be pain, drugs, regret and despair.

The lovers are named Allie Nelson and Noah Calhoun, known as Duke. As old people they're played by Gena Rowlands and James Garner . As young people, by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling . The performances are suited to the material, respecting the passion at the beginning and the sentiment at the end, but not pushing too hard; there is even a time when young Noah tells Allie, "I don't see how it's gonna work," and means it, and a time when Allie gets engaged to another man.

She's a rich kid, summering at the family's mansion in North Carolina. He's a local kid who works at the sawmill but is smart and poetic. Her parents are snobs. His father ( Sam Shepard ) is centered and supportive. Noah loves her the moment he sees her, and actually hangs by his hands from a bar on a Ferris wheel until she agrees to go out with him. Her parents are direct: "He's trash. He's not for you." One day her mother ( Joan Allen ) shows her a local working man, who looks hard-used by life, and tells Allie that 25 years ago she was in love with him. Allie thinks her parents do not love each other, but her mother insists they do; still, Allen is such a precise actress that she is able to introduce the quietest note of regret into the scene.

The movie is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks , whose books inspired "Message in a Bottle" (1999), unloved by me, and " A Walk to Remember " (2002), which was so sweet and positive it persuaded me (as did Mandy Moore as its star). Now here is a story that could have been a tearjerker, but -- no, wait, it is a tearjerker, it's just that it's a good one. The director is Nick Cassavetes , son of Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes , and perhaps his instinctive feeling for his mother helped him find the way past soap opera in the direction of truth.

Ryan Gosling has already been identified as one of the best actors of his generation, although usually in more hard-edged material. Rachel McAdams, who just a few months ago was the bitchy high school queen in " Mean Girls ," here shows such beauty and clarity that we realize once again how actors are blessed by good material. As for Gena Rowlands and James Garner: They are completely at ease in their roles, never striving for effect, never wanting us to be sure we get the message. Garner is an actor so confident and sure that he makes the difficult look easy, and loses credit for his skill. Consider how simply and sincerely he tells their children: "Look, guys, that's my sweetheart in there." Rowlands, best-known for high-strung, even manic characters, especially in films by her late husband, here finds a quiet vulnerability that is luminous.

The photography by Robert Fraisse is striking in its rich, saturated effects, from sea birds at sunset to a dilapidated mansion by candlelight to the texture of Southern summer streets. It makes the story seem more idealized; certainly the retirement home at the end seems more of heaven than of earth.

And the old mansion is underlined, too, first in its decay and then in its rebirth; young Noah is convinced that if he makes good on his promise to rebuild it for Allie, she will come to live in it with him, and paint in the studio he has made for her. ("Noah had gone a little mad," the notebook says.) That she is engaged to marry another shakes him but doesn't discourage him.

We have recently read much about Alzheimer's because of the death of Ronald Reagan. His daughter Patti Davis reported that just before he died, the former president opened his eyes and gazed steadily into those of Nancy, and there was no doubt that he recognized her.

Well, it's nice to think so. Nice to believe the window can open once more before closing forever.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Sheila o'malley, film credits.

The Notebook (2004)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality

123 minutes

Rachel McAdams as Young Allie Nelson

Ryan Gosling as Young Noah Calhoun

Gena Rowlands as Allie Nelson

James Garner as Noah Calhoun

Joan Allen as Allie's Mother

Heather Wahlquist as Sara Tuffington

Nancy De Mayo as Mary Allen Calhoun

Sylvia Jefferies as Rosemary

Directed by

Nick Cassavetes
Jeremy Leven

Based on the novel by

Nicholas Sparks

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The Notebook Reviews

The Notebook is one of those movies that is so sad, you could break out into tears just thinking about it.

Full Review | Oct 23, 2023

A tearjerker? It'll make you cry but it's not manipulative. A chick flick? It's just an inspiring love story that will touch your heart and make you believe true love can last a lifetime and conquer all. Isn't that what we all want?

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 21, 2023

There is always cinema room for the unabashed tearjerker, & THE N delivers on that "note." Any film that has Gena Rowlands in it will at least shine when she is on the screen & this was no exception. David Thornton with a handlebar mustache ... exquisite!

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 25, 2023

Though torn between two storylines, one of which vastly outshines the other, "The Notebook" is still an impressive production.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 7, 2020

Intelligently adapted and written by Jan Sardi, this is the tear-jerker of the summer. A chick flick? Yes. Classic Hollywood romance? Yes. Will it touch your heart? Without a doubt...

Full Review | Nov 13, 2019

James Garner and Gena Rowlands lend the story a graceful gravity that perhaps the rest of the film's more simplistic romanticism doesn't deserve.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 31, 2019

Never quite escapes the been-there-done-that feeling of Hollywood romantic cliché with sunny photography and perfectly tailored costumes to boot.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 5, 2019

Frank Capra would be proud of the way Nick Cassavetes pulls at the heart strings... Have tissues at the ready.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 18, 2019

The Notebook is a ghastly piece of oldie slush which is tediously orchestrated by Nick Cassavetes.

Full Review | Feb 2, 2019

The Notebook is the kind of syrupy, heightened melodrama more likely to be found in the pages of a Mills & Boon paperback than on the silver screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 2, 2019

In a romance where paradise is a duck-filled pond, it helps to be mild-mannered.

Dentistry in the Renaissance could not have been more painful than watching this.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Feb 2, 2019

The Notebook is premium romantic schlock and confirms director Nick Cassavetes (Rowlands' son) as a specialist in the genre after John Q in 2002.

Two good, young performers and a couple of not-too-shabby older ones not only make The Notebook worth watching but distinguish the film as one of the year's more pleasant surprises.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 2, 2019

The Notebook is a thoroughly old-fashioned romantic melodrama awash with misty-eyed sentiment as it charts the obstacles placed in the path of two young lovers from opposite sides of the social divide.

A shameless tear-jerker and as corny as they come, this retro romantic drama skilfully pushes all the right emotional buttons.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 2, 2019

A honey-dipped love story with a surprisingly tart aftertaste, The Notebook is a better-than-you'd-expect adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's bestselling novel of the same name.

A story about true love that makes you cry, the kind you don't forget. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8.5/10 | Feb 2, 2019

What saves Notebook, or at least lifts it above itself, are the hints of hard-won grit that both Gosling and Garner inject into their characters.

Sure, The Notebook's story of first love tends toward the histrionic and self-important. But if that's case, perhaps Cassavetes, like Shakespeare, simply knows how to give the people what they want.

Full Review | Feb 7, 2018

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The notebook, common sense media reviewers.

More sex than you'd expect for a syrupy romance.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie's ultimate message is that true love con

Though it's romantic to watch characters fall in l

Predominantly White cast, with most Black characte

Noah and Finn are engaged in active duty during Wo

Steamy passion between the two young lovers. Lots

Words/phrases used include "damn," "crap," "goddam

A 17-year-old smokes a cigar. Adults drink cocktai

Positive Messages

The movie's ultimate message is that true love conquers all. But there are also less-positive takeaways and stereotypes; see more in Diverse Representations.

Positive Role Models

Though it's romantic to watch characters fall in love so wholly and stay devoted to each other, some of the choices that the lovers make—like cheating on a relationship, resorting to domestic violence, and lying to family members—don't qualify as role model behavior.

Diverse Representations

Predominantly White cast, with most Black characters shown in stereotypical roles (e.g., maid in a wealthy household, caretakers, entertainers). Neutral depictions also include Black couples dancing alongside White couples in a 1940s social club. Socioeconomic disparities are frequently highlighted between the working class (called "poor" and "trash") and the privileged (called "rich"). A movie theater scene shows a non-Native character in redface, and the phrase "darn squaw" can be heard.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Noah and Finn are engaged in active duty during World War II. There's a bomb raid that incurs heavy losses. Allie nurses soldiers who've lost limbs. Noah stalks and pursues Allie; she repeatedly refuses him and says no, but he threatens self-harm until she consents to a date. Noah and Allie fight passionately—in multiple scenes, she hits and slaps him. Poignant deaths.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Steamy passion between the two young lovers. Lots of making out and heavy petting. Characters undress in front of each other (only their shoulders are shown). A fairly graphic lovemaking scene (again, just shoulders visible, plus a brief glimpse of breast from the side).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Words/phrases used include "damn," "crap," "goddammit," "son of a bitch," and "pain in the ass." The slur "darn squaw" is heard in a movie theater.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A 17-year-old smokes a cigar. Adults drink cocktails, wine, champagne, and beer. Noah goes on a 10-day drinking binge. Characters drink in excess to ease pain or to lessen their inhibitions. Most meals are accompanied by alcohol.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Notebook is a World War II-era romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. Scenes include passionate kissing and a fairly graphic lovemaking scene (though only shoulders and a side breast are shown). Characters drink and smoke; there's also brief battle violence and poignant deaths. Language includes "damn," "son of a bitch," "ass," and the slur "squaw." Iffy messages around romance include the portrayals of stalking, coercion, and domestic violence as simply "passion." The cast is predominantly White, while Black supporting characters fall into various clich és (e.g., a maid). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

Parents say (34)
Kids say (106)

Based on 34 parent reviews

Enjoyed the movie; should be rated R.

How's nobody talking about the toxic relationships in this, what's the story.

THE NOTEBOOK is a story about a 1940s summer romance between Allie ( Rachel McAdams ), the daughter of wealthy parents, and Noah ( Ryan Gosling ), a working-class boy. They're crazy about each other, but her parents disapprove. When Allie goes to college, Noah writes to her every day, but Allie's mother ( Joan Allen ) withholds his letters. Believing neither have wanted to stay in touch, Allie and Noah go their separate ways as World War II ensues. When newly engaged Allie returns to their small town and sees Noah again, they soon realize their romance is far from over.

Is It Any Good?

In this sweeping drama, the details and dialogue are a bit clumsy, but romantics likely won't care. McAdams and Gosling are talented actors of their generation. James Garner , Gena Rowlands , Sam Shepard (as Noah's father), and Allen (as Allie's mother) also give the material more than it deserves, and director Nick Cassavetes clearly wants this film to be a love letter to Rowlands, his mother, who's luminous in this film. In the end, Noah's enduring love for Allie wins hearts.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how The Notebook depicts love and romance. Is this what a relationship is "supposed" to be like? Why, or why not?

How does the movie treat sex ? What are the real-life impacts and consequences of sexual activity?

How do we know who we're meant to be with? Who should we listen to as we think about making that choice?

Movie Details

In theaters : June 25, 2004
On DVD or streaming : February 7, 2005
Cast : James Garner , Rachel McAdams , Ryan Gosling
Director : Nick Cassavetes
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : New Line
Genre : Romance
Run time : 124 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : some sexuality
Last updated : April 28, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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A Walk to Remember

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Love Actually

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DVD & Streaming

The Notebook

Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

Rachel McAdams as young Allie Hamilton; Ryan Gosling as young Noah Calhoun; Gena Rowlands as elderly Allie; James Garner as elderly Noah; Joan Allen as Anne Hamilton; David Thornton as John Hamilton; James Marsden as Lon; Sam Shepard as Frank Calhoun; Kevin Connolly as Fin

Home Release Date

Nick Cassavetes

Distributor

New Line Cinema

Movie Review

I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.

So opens The Notebook against the backdrop of a spectacular sunset over a lake, grabbing our hearts and never letting go as the extraordinary love story of Allie and Noah unfolds.

It begins at the end. Every day his failing health allows, an octogenarian shuffles down the corridors of a nursing home and enters an old woman’s room. Her mind is riddled by Alzheimer’s disease, but as the man reads from the handwritten pages of a worn notebook, science is defied and her memory is sparked by the timeless story of their love. …

The chronicle he reads begins one summer in 1930s North Carolina. Poor country boy Noah Calhoun meets rich city girl Allie Hamilton and is instantly attracted. Soon the two are inseparable, spending every waking moment together. He shows her how to have good ol’ country-style fun; she invites him into her world of fine arts and garden parties. By the end of the summer the teen soul mates have given their hearts, and most of their purity, to each other.

There’s just one problem: Allie’s parents have her future all planned out, and Noah doesn’t fit the picture of the wealthy, blue-blooded husband they have in mind for her. So without giving the young lovers a chance to even say goodbye, Mrs. Hamilton packs her little girl off to a fancy women’s college. Noah writes to Allie every day for a year, but never receives a reply. Unaware of parental deception, Allie and Noah are each devastated at the perceived abandonment by the other. They slowly rebuild their lives apart, haunted by memories of their first love.

Noah survives a stint in Patton’s third army during WWII, then returns to buy and restore his dream home, all the while fighting off Allie’s ghost. Allie gets an art degree and becomes a volunteer army nurse before settling down to the life her parents dreamed of. But why does she see Noah’s face while accepting the rich and handsome Lon’s proposal? When all hope seems lost, “fate” intervenes and they’re given a second chance at love.

Positive Elements

Noah’s dad models selflessness and generosity of spirit to his son. He teaches him to build a relationship one memory at a time by sharing life’s simple joys like fishing and eating pancakes at midnight. He also instills in his young son a love of poetry by having him repeatedly recite Walt Whitman to overcome a speech impediment. Noah’s love of the written word is embraced by Allie, and their shared passion for expressing their feelings in writing becomes the life support of their relationship. (In today’s high-tech world, it’s refreshing to find a story that upholds the power of the written word.)

Mrs. Hamilton redeems her broken relationship with her daughter by returning Noah’s letters at a critical moment and sharing a story from her own youth that helps Allie choose what path she will take. Noah’s example of placing his wife before all others is an inspiration to a generation taught to put their own needs first. He also makes it clear that love is hard, everyday work, and that squabbles don’t have to undo it. Ultimately, he gives up his beloved home and personal life to reside in a separate wing at her nursing home, not for health reasons, but to allow himself constant access to Allie.

Another poignant lesson here is that all human life has value. The elderly and mentally disabled still have much to offer and are not ready to be cast by society into the invisible realm of shadow people. This is reflected not only in the relationship between the aging Allie and Noah, but also in the compassionate treatment they receive from nursing home attendants who come up with creative ways to accommodate patients’ emotional and physical needs.

Spiritual Elements

The narrator, commenting on the doctor’s prognosis of Allie’s dementia, says, “Science only comes so far and then comes God.” He also speaks of the “miracle” of love. While Allie and Noah never discuss spiritual matters (except for lighthearted banter about being a bird in some past life), their love matures into the embodiment of God’s ideal expressed in 1 Corinthians 13.

Sexual Content

Author Nicholas Sparks told ChristianityToday.com that he believed his stories (most notably A Walk to Remember ) resonated with Christians because, “I have certain moral parameters that I do not cross in writing; I don’t write about adultery or kids having premarital sex.” His book The Notebook mentions (briefly) that the teenage Noah and Allie “both lost their virginity.” This movie, however, translates those four words into an onscreen romp that’ll leave families squirming uncomfortably in their seats. After exchanging promises, Noah and Allie shed their clothes one piece at a time, then engage in totally nude foreplay. (Calculated positioning of arms, legs and the camera, along with the low light, obscures both bodies’ most “delicate” parts.) Allie’s remaining virtue is rescued (and moviegoers’ along with her) when Noah’s best friend barges in and tells them Allie’s folks have the cops out looking for them.

Years later the now-adult couple’s second tryst, and actual consummation of their passions (an event written about in considerably detail in the book) occurs long into Allie’s engagement to a “good man” that she says more than once she’s in love with. She playfully rebukes Noah’s advances with, “You wouldn’t dare. I’m a married woman!” He counters by reminding her she isn’t married yet . They then commence a two-day love affair that, because of its fiery intensity and just-shy of explicit nudity feels like it lasts at least that long onscreen.

Thinking Allie is lost to him forever, Noah “takes the sting of loneliness” away by becoming bed buddies with a war widow named Martha. (Sex is implied when Martha gets out of bed nude; she’s seen from the back, from the waist up.) Martha knows he’s thinking of another woman during their romps but accepts his explanation that “the things you want are all broken, gone.” Martha goes over to Noah’s house after he’s reunited with Allie and asks to meet his “one.” Inexplicably, instead of being jealous, Martha is inspired by the love she sees. Her parting words to Noah are, “For the first time since I lost [my husband], I feel like I have something to look forward to.”

Elsewhere, Allie licks ice cream off Noah’s face on a public street (risqué stuff for 1930s rural America). And he slaps her bottom as she gets out of his truck. A nude Allie is seen painting (waist up from the back). A few characters wear revealing outfits.

Violent Content

Allie pushes and slaps Noah several times during a heated argument. (To his credit, Noah refuses to retaliate.) Noah’s best friend, Fin, dies in battle. (War images are brief and tempered.)

Crude or Profane Language

A half-dozen misuses of God’s name (three of “g–d–n”), and a dozen or so other mild profanities (“a–,” “h—,” “d–n”). The elderly Allie, commenting on a notebook passage, says, “She should have told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

The narrator tells us that Noah goes on a 10-day drinking binge after seeing Allie with her fiancé, Lon. Indeed, both Noah and Allie drink quite a bit to smother their pain. Allie and Lon seem a bit tipsy while drinking champagne at a nightclub. Lon has a casual drink in his office. When the adult Allie and Noah have beers with dinner, she tells him she’s a cheap drunk. Guests at a party drink and smoke cigarettes. WWII soldiers and Lon also inhale.

Other Negative Elements

A few juvenile hijinks don’t cause much of a ruffle onscreen, but could result in real-life unhappy endings if imitated: An impetuous young Noah dangles from the heights of a Ferris wheel with one hand to capture Allie’s attention. (She responds by undoing his pants and revealing his boxers.) When Noah challenges Allie to lie down in the middle of an intersection (remember, this is rural America) in the middle of the night, she asks, “What happens if a car comes?” His deadpan reply? “You die. You have to learn to trust.” Elsewhere, army recruits are seen nude. (Their hands cover their privates.)

Allie’s parents make no secret of the fact that they believe Noah isn’t worthy of their daughter. They like him all right, he’s just not rich enough and doesn’t have the right daddy. On the night of the couple’s breakup, Noah overhears Allie’s mother calling him “trash, trash, trash!” Mrs. Hamilton’s deception of hiding Noah’s letters from Allie succeeds in keeping the couple apart for years, but at the cost of a strained mother-daughter relationship.

Some will write The Notebook off as yet another emotionally manipulative and overly-sappy “chick flick.” But because it looks so tenderly at an elderly couple stricken by Alzheimer’s, others will find themselves attracted to it, placing themselves into the story and living out its emotion. It might also be seen as a timely reflection of the deep and lasting loved shared by Nancy and Ronald Reagan, whose love story has made a permanent cultural impression. Just as Nancy’s commitment and love transcended the emotional and physical gulf that marked her husband’s disease, so Noah’s steadfast love for Allie sustains them.

Nicholas Sparks has said his story “is a metaphor for God’s love for us all. The theme is everlasting, unconditional love. It also goes into the sanctity of marriage and the beauty you can find in a loving relationship.” Although that metaphor gets more than a little muddied by premarital sex, Noah and Allie ultimately realize the full potential of mature love. Most romantic dramas only celebrate the chaotic, spontaneous flush of young love, serving it up as the pinnacle of the relationship before either settling down on a complacent plateau or crashing down the slippery slope of dysfunction. Sparks’ movie shows a rare understanding of the kind of love God desires for married couples, a once-in-a-lifetime deep intimacy of spirit, expressed without boundaries and growing in strength and loveliness as time goes by. It is the kind of soul-satisfying love that God established as a demonstration of His own love for His people, hence the author’s metaphor. That makes it all the more regrettable that steamy sex scenes will give a lot of adults reason to pause, and push the tale (at least unedited) out-of-bounds for discerning teens.

Rhonda Handlon

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‘The Notebook’ at 20 – Review

The Notebook (2004) Director: Nick Cassavetes Screenwriter: Jeremy Leven Starring: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly, Sam Shepard, Joan Allen.

When The Notebook was released in the summer of 2004, critics and audiences seemed split in their response to the film. Based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, and starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling as young, star-crossed lovers in 1940s USA, The Notebook was a hit at the box office and was particularly popular with young adults, winning a slew of accolades at both the Teen Choice Awards and the MTV Movie Awards. Critical reception, however, was lukewarm. Some reviews at the time seemed turned off by The Notebook’s sentimental love story, calling the romance everything from “gooey” and “over-the-top” to “sickly sweet”.

Of course, none of that stopped The Notebook from achieving a kind of pop culture significance that makes it difficult to imagine a time when it didn’t exist. The iconic makeout scene in the rain between McAdams and Gosling is among the most memorable and recognizable moments of onscreen romance, as is their recreation of that kiss on stage at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, where the pair won Best Kiss. And Gosling’s often quoted ‘What do you want?!’ monologue has been memed to death online to the point of absurdity. At this point, nearly all of Sparks’ novels have been adapted for the screen, but none of them have even come close to having the impact of The Notebook.

20 years later, the film’s dismissal, by some, as a middle-brow chick-flick that your girlfriend forces you to watch with her at gunpoint (for no reason other than to hold a box of tissues as she cries), rather than any kind of serious art, is worthy of some extreme side-eye. The truth is: The Notebook succeeds in spite of its flaws and because of its sentimentality. Spearheaded by irresistible and committed lead performances, The Notebook is a genuinely moving portrayal of love, from that first spark to its last breath, and it stands as a testament to the seductive power of romantic cinema.

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, The Notebook is essentially a story within a story. In present day, we meet Duke (James Garner), who lives in a nursing home and spends his days (appropriately) reading a handwritten story from a notebook to a female patient who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. That story begins in the summer of 1940, at a carnival in the sleepy seaside town of Seabrook, South Carolina. There, on the eve of World War II, Noah Calhoun (Gosling), a poor lumber worker, meets 17-year-old heiress Allie Hamilton (McAdams), who is staying in town with her family for a few months. Though they initially get off on the wrong foot, Allie and Noah soon fall in love, but are eventually forced apart by Allie’s parents, who insist that Noah is not a suitable match for their daughter. Following the war, Allie becomes engaged to Lon Hammon (James Marsden), a former solider loaded with old, Southern money. Their impending marriage is complicated, however, when Allie spots a photo of Noah in the newspaper, leading her to question what she really wants in life – and who she wants to be with.

There is a half-hearted attempt at the beginning of the film to conceal the truth, but it is not long before we can infer that the older couple depicted in the framing device is in fact Noah and Allie. Noah reads to her every day the story of how they met and fell in love and the challenges they faced, in the hopes that, despite her mind being ravaged by disease, she will somehow find a way remember it – to come back to him. Even though his doctor tells him quite frankly that, at some point, there is simply is no coming back, Noah shrugs this off. “Science can only go so far, and then there’s God,” he says.

The Notebook is a film that wholeheartedly believes in miracles and divine intervention. More importantly, it makes us believe in them too. It is a film that does not have a cynical bone in its body and is instead infused with tenderness and nostalgia, a longing for a time that has already slipped by. Its early scenes are idealized in the way only first love can be – saturated in golden summer light, the southern heat palpable. At its core, The Notebook is a fantasy, one that makes us long for a time in history that never really existed – it simply airbrushes away the more unseemly realities of the pre/post-war American South. The time period in general is nothing more than a backdrop – an aesthetic. Though it is a romance first and foremost, and it never pretends to be anything else, The Notebook is none the less the kind of historical film that centers whiteness. History lingers at the edges of every frame, though, in the plantation house Noah buys and restores and in the mention of Lon being heir to a cotton dynasty. These details are mentioned in passing and inconsequential in the end because our characters are never truly affected by them. It’s not really fair to judge a film based on what it is not, but it’s still worth noting that The Notebook ‘s fantasy relies on a kind of whitewashing that invites us to forget the existence of our own blighted past, made for people who have the luxury of pretending.

The Notebook wants us to believe in the all-consuming power of true love, and McAdams and Gosling are more than up for the task, both giving equally heartfelt performances.

Playing a romantic lead like Noah was an interesting pivot for Gosling at the time. The actor, who would go on to achieve comedy gold as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie , had earlier in his career been drawn to much darker roles. In the years leading up to The Notebook , he not only played a sociopath in Murder by Numbers , but also a neo-nazi in The Believer . Because of this, Gosling brings a slight edge to his performance that is really effective in his portrayal of Noah after the war, broken by the loss of Allie and his father’s (Sam Shepard) death, half-crazy with the notion of somehow winning Allie back. His transformation is subtle and hints at the range we now know for certain that he has. Rachel McAdams is a revelation as Allie, playing her with a such a strength and fire, imbuing her with a rich interiority that the script does little more than hint at. The fact that Mean Girls – where she plays ice cold queen bee Regina George – was released in the same year is evidence enough of her ability to disappear into her roles with nothing more than a hair color change.

As far as supporting performances go, Joan Allen as Allie’s mom is a definite stand out, doing so much with so little and turning a character that would be easy to hate into one that you can’t help but to sympathize with. While McAdams and Gosling are given all of the big, melodramatic story moments, James Garner and Gena Rowlands as the older Allie and Noah offer smaller, more grounded performances that are just as affecting.

In particular, Gosling and McAdams are so convincing that it’s easy to forget that the film never really gives us much reason as to why Noah and Allie want to be together so desperately. The Notebook , for all its grand gestures, is unfortunately light on the details, relying for the most part on the inherent chemistry of our leads to fill in the banks. But, that doesn’t matter as much as it might in other films, because in the end the right kind of love is neither good nor bad – it is simply the one that you want. It’s about being brave enough to go and get it.

Score: 17/24

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Metacritic reviews

The notebook.

80 Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson If you're the sort who enjoys shedding such in darkened theaters, your must-see summer movie has arrived.
75 Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington May be corny, but it's also absorbing, sweet and powerfully acted. It's a film about falling in love and looking back on it, and it avoids many of the genre's syrupy dangers.
63 ReelViews James Berardinelli ReelViews James Berardinelli Sadly, the elements that made the book special did not survive the transition to the screen.
60 Variety Robert Koehler Variety Robert Koehler A determined and often affecting romance that doesn't speak down to audiences.
60 Village Voice Jessica Winter Village Voice Jessica Winter Amid the sticky-sweet swamp of Jeremy Leven's script, Rowlands and Garner emerge spotless and beatific, lending a magnanimous credibility to their scenes together. These two old pros slice cleanly through the thicket of sap-weeping dialogue and contrivance, locating the terror and desolation wrought by the cruel betrayals of a failing mind.
58 Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum You know what you want to see if you want to see The Notebook...You want to see girls in pretty 1940s dresses, soldiers in stirring World War II uniforms, handsome automobiles and equally handsome Southern landscapes. You want to see romance overcome adversity.
40 The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen Mercilessly plodding pacing, problematic character motivations and a fundamental lack of chemistry between the two star-crossed lovers in question don't do a lot to help its cause.
40 The A.V. Club Scott Tobias The A.V. Club Scott Tobias Opening shots tend to say a lot about a movie, but they say everything about The Notebook, a glossy adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' four-hanky sudser.
40 L.A. Weekly Ella Taylor L.A. Weekly Ella Taylor From the first soft piano that accompanies white geese flying toward a humongous orange sunset, The Notebook racks up the sugary clichés till youre screaming for mercy.
25 Rolling Stone Peter Travers Rolling Stone Peter Travers I have the same allergic reaction to this open faucet of tear-jerking swill as I do to the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel that inspired it.
See all 34 reviews on Metacritic.com
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The Notebook

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Duration: 100 mins

Cast and crew

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Rachel McAdams
Ryan Gosling
Gena Rowlands

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I Finally Watched The Notebook , and I Have Some Thoughts

We all have our cinematic blind spots, and until yesterday, The Notebook was one of mine. To a certain extent, I think it was a forgivable one: This movie has become mandatory viewing for a lot of young women (which means a lot of their boyfriends have seen it as well), but I’m a 34-year-old gay dude — it eluded me, you know? Still, I’ve watched so many movies over the last decade, like The Vow or The Fault in Our Stars , that were either influenced by The Notebook or were green-lit in some part due to its success; it seemed only fair, then, to give the Ryan Gosling/Rachel McAdams romantic drama its proper due.

Last night, on the eve of the movie’s tenth anniversary, I finally watched The Notebook for the first time. It was good, mostly! I think I get it. It’s a very handsomely made, throwback love story where the guy says he’ll love the girl until the end of time and Really Means It, and the movie remixes Titanic in a whole lot of clever ways: There’s a rich girl who wears big hats and has a snooty mom, a poor boy with blond bangs who loves her, a potent scene of old people cuddling in a bed, and flash-forward bookends that are destined to pull tears. But now that I’ve finally caught up to what you guys have been discussing for the last ten years, will you let me ask some questions and share some thoughts? There are 16 things about The Notebook that have stuck with me since I’ve seen it, and I want to know what you think about them, too.

- Why do so many of our movie love stories begin with the male lead leveling an obsessive stare at our clearly uncomfortable heroine? It happens in The Notebook , it happens in Twilight , and it happens in The Fault in Our Stars . Is this a new romantic trope? “I want a guy who will love me for the rest of my life and really creep me out at first.”

- On that note, the way Allie repeatedly insists that she doesn’t want to go out with him and the way an unrepentant Noah threatens her and says “I’m not gonna ask you again” is just a litttttttle bit “Blurred Lines,” no?

- Obviously, Ryan Gosling got the biggest career jolt from this movie, but I feel like Rachel McAdams is unusually underrated in it; she’s so spontaneous and joyful in every scene. Gosling is not always a generous performer with his scene partners, but you can really feel him stepping outside his comfort zone with McAdams, because while he’s talking, she’ll provoke him by laughing or rolling her eyes at completely random moments. [ Editor’s Note: It’s because they’re in lovvvvve! They’re so in love, look at them! Gah, why can’t they get back together. ] You can’t say this about most actresses top-lining Nicholas Sparks romantic dramas, but she’s utterly alive in this role.

- Gosling’s good, too, and now I guess I understand why heterosexual women are so adamant about him in a way they aren’t about, like, Jake Gyllenhaal. This movie was important to them!

- Do we want to talk about Ryan Gosling’s old nose in this movie? I’m just asking you, because I’m not going to say a word about it.

- I will say this, though: Throughout this movie, Noah’s handwriting is impeccable .

- “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird.” Was this a thing? I’m vaguely aware that this might have been a thing. It’s like the “If you jump, I jump” of The Notebook , right? I love that the most iconic line from The Notebook sounds like something you might say in an improv class.

- I also like how in the scene where Allie and Noah are about to make love for the first time in an abandoned, dusty spider-building, they get undressed so far apart, like an unhappily married rich couple sitting at opposite ends of a long dining table. I must say, though, that their reactions to seeing each other’s uncovered junk are priceless .

- Can we talk about Allie’s dad in the movie? I was expecting him to be played by, like, Dylan Baker or somebody, not a fucking Mario Brother dressed up like Hugh Hefner. What was up with that mustache and his whole vibe? It was so weird! (Side note: I was excited to discuss the dad today because surely everyone has spent the last ten years wondering why that character was so odd, but then I mentioned him to one of my female co-workers who has seen this movie several times, and she IM’d me: “i have zero memory of the dad. what is wrong with you?” Ryan Gosling–related tunnel vision is a powerful thing!)

- Boy, they killed off E right as that war began. He just got there!

- Guys, I was just thrilled when James Marsden showed up as the Other Love Interest. It’s a little funny, because our narrator muses that “Allie was surprised by how fast she fell in love with him,” and it’s like, Bitch, are you not paying attention to what’s in this getting-to-know-you montage right now ? Because all I see is James Marsden in an officer’s uniform, James Marsden in a tux, and James Marsden wearing a tan turtleneck while riding a horse on the beach . If Allie was that surprised to fall in love with him, I was expecting rapid-onset blindness as a third-act twist.

- Ryan Gosling with the hair and the beard and the rain? It’s a good look.

- I kind of expected more conflict at the end? Allie goes off to see Noah for the first time since they were teenagers, and after they bone and confess their love for one another, you kind of expect that everyone in their lives will conspire to keep these lovebirds apart. But no one does! Literally every character, from Noah’s mistress to Allie’s mother and fiancé, tells them, “You guys should really get together.” And then they do, and that’s the end of their love story. Nobody put up any sort of fight? I was anticipating some real Thorn Birds– level, forbidden-love shit, but in the end, these lovers weren’t all that star-crossed.

- Also, the main knock against choosing Ryan Gosling’s character was that he’s poor, but at the end of the movie, he’s a heterosexual 24-year-old who wears a lot of clean Henleys and owns beautiful beachfront property. I don’t think this was a hard choice.

- I used to work at a site that had a recurring feature called “My Favorite Scene,” where we’d ask celebrities to discuss the movie scenes they loved best. The big joke among us was that a solid 70 percent of young actresses always gravitated to The Notebook , and the scene they tended to pick was, “The whole movie, I guess.”

- I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to watch the movie with me and he replied, “I’ve already seen it and it’s stupid,” then went into the other room. Later, he came out, watched the last 15 minutes of the movie, and bawled.

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The Notebook Review

25 Jun 2004

124 minutes

Notebook, The

Following the tradition of Fried Green Tomatoes, this romantic weepy relates a tale in the hope that its modern-day protagonists ù who may well have played a part in the story themselves - will be better for hearing it.

But, on film at least, this story might have been better without its modern-day protagonists, played by James Garner and Gena Rowlands (Cassavetes' mother). Garner's narration smacks of greeting-card sentiment and the Alzheimer's storyline, in which Rowlands' character has lost her memory, is oversimplified.

Thank goodness, then, for the magic created by young stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, whose intense romance is played out with conviction and an infectious joie de vivre. Little in their journey is unexpected: you're waiting for the obstacle (after all, what self-respecting young lady in the 1940s would have been seen without two handsome suitors to compete over her?), and the solution is not hard to spot, either.

But thanks to delightful characters, careful pacing and a stirring score, this film achieves the distinction of being exceptionally moving without anyone major having to die.

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Longlegs Review: Nothing Scarier Will Descend Upon Us This Year, and It's More Than Just Nic Cage

The conjuring franchise sets a date for fourth & final movie, 10 underrated live-action disney movies.

I made a New Year's resolution this year, and after seeing The Notebook , it's a resolution I wish I didn't make, rather, a resolution I didn't stick to. My resolution this year was to at least make an effort to see EVERY film that I possibly can, given the limitations of the options around me. These limitations basically leave me with blockbusters, comedies and movies like The Notebook . Like most guys, I usually strayed from the "chick flick" genre, unless my methods of hypnosis managed to persuade my way into a date of some sort...so yeah, basically I didn't see any chick flicks. But, a resolution is a resolution, and with a girl I know wanting to see The Notebook , off I went. Damn resolutions...I'm gonna resolve to steal a Ferrari next year or something...

The movie starts out in a nursing home of some sort, and an elderly man, "Duke" (Garner) on his way to his daily ritual of reading a story out of a notebook to an elderly woman, Allie. It's a story of young love and heartbreak, separation, moving on and all that crap. Of course, this story seems quite familiar to Allie...blah blah blah. If you've seen the trailer, you don't need Jedi-like foresight to figure out what's going to happen here.

This flick borrows from so many different movies it's not even worth mentioning a few. There is the "from two different worlds" element, with the rich girl and poor boy falling in love, despite the rich parents dissaproval. There is a little bit of the war/"I'm never going to see him/her again" aspect, somewhat taken from Cold Mountain and many other movies. Plus we get different bits of 50 First Dates/Memento and sappy elements from so many chick flicks I can't even begin to count. It almost seems as if the title alludes to novelist Nicholas Sparks' notes on different flicks he's watched, which, in turn, resulted in his novel this movie is based on. I haven't read the novel, so I don't know how faithful the movie is to the book, but it doesn't matter. This movie just doesn't have anything going for it, as far as originality is concerned. True, there are some interesting little twists that in the context of the movie are well-done. But the twists themselves have, again, been done many times before.

The movie does have a few good things going for it, though, and they are mainly from the performances. Ryan Gosling, a relative newcomer best known for his role in the underrated Murder by Numbers, gives a fine performance in his first true leading role as Noah. He's very diverse, portraying the high's of his affection for Allie and the low's of his dull, morose life after their separation. Rachel McAdams, another newcomer fresh off shadowing Lindsey Lohan in Mean Girls, does a great job also as Allie. She is wonderful at showing both sides of her persona: the free-spirit when with Noah, and slightly reserved socialite when with new beau Lon (Marsden). James Garner does a very nice job as "Duke" and Gena Rowlands is superb as the elderly Allie. And Joan Allen does a fantastic job as Allie's mean-spirited Mom, as well.

But, acting aside, there is nothing else really redeeming about this movie. The script was written by Jeremy Leven, whose dicey resume should be a warning sign anyway (See: Alex and Emma, Crazy as Hell, whatever the hell that is). I suppose he should be given credit for being consistently predictable, and putting old twists in different contexts. The dialogue, for the most part, isn't too bad also, but you can see everything coming 86 miles away. And it seemed he couldn't decide where to end this flick either. There are a few different spots that could've easily served as a decent ending, but he kept going and going, trying to squeeze as much, pardon the pun, sap out of the proverbial tree as humanly possible. Sure, there are a few purely touching moments, but overall, the material has been used so much before that it took everything out of it.

Director Nick Cassavettes, son of actor/filmmaker John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, doesn't too bad a job at the helm here. It's a very colorful film (literally) and he uses some beautiful sets. The problem is I couldn't really focus on his work because the story was so bothersome. Still, this movie won't help him to break through his streak of mediocrity (See: John Q, She's So Lovely).

The Notebook is a movie about love conquering all, and all that crap. The girls will dry their eyes, while the guys will roll theirs. The acting and directing are well-done, but it's an incredibly predictable, unoriginal and dull yarn that should've stayed on the page rather than on the screen.

Movie and TV Reviews

‘The Notebook’ is a dumpster fire and I didn’t realize it 15 years ago

It was June 2004. I was a teenager so proud of the mascara stains that trailed my cheeks. They were proof that I didn’t just tear up; I cried so hard at "The Notebook." I felt invigorated, impassioned. I was alive!

And I was thereafter obsessed with the movie.

The Nicholas Sparks adaptation, a 1940s-set romance starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling as summer lovers with family income discrepancies, would go on to inspire my MySpace wallpaper, top my “favorite movies” list and become required viewing for my confused high-school boyfriends.

That was then.

Ahead of the drama's 15th anniversary on June 25, I decided to revisit the sob story now that I’m a less-hormonal 30. How would I like it?

It turns out, well, I would not. I would not like it at all.

Reader, I finally realized that “The Notebook” is a dangerous dumpster fire. I am embarrassed that I fell for a tale about a stalker who likes the way a girl looks on a carnival ride, and so he spends the rest of his life pining for her, despite not appreciating anything else about her.

How do I despise The Notebook? Let me count the ways.

Noah is a total creep

Remember Noah and Allie’s not-so-cute meeting?

He spots her at a carnival, where she’s laughing and crashing a bumper car, and instantly decides that she looks gorgeous and "free" and he must have her.

After she politely declines his overtures, he follows her onto a Ferris wheel and proceeds to dangle from the ride by one hand , threatening to slip unless Allie agrees to go on a date with him. She’s forced to say yes.

I'm forced to yell, "This is bull!" at my TV.

Once Allie and Noah get to talking, he insults her

When they finally do get together, Allie opens up about her "strict schedule" of tutoring and music lessons, and Noah makes her feel insecure about not being as "free" as he believed. He convinces her to loosen up, to "learn how to trust," and to lie on the street with him until they’re both almost run over by a car. She laughs, because, ha, they nearly died.

Ha. Ha. This is garbage that doesn't show how real, compatible humans fall in love. But the leads are so distractingly handsome, I didn't notice before.

Noah and Allie don't actually like each other when they're not sucking face

Noah and Allie spend a summer making out, yelling at each other for being annoying and learning that they have nothing in common. The closest thing they have to a real conversation is an inane chat about how if one if them had been a bird in another life, naturally, the other would’ve been, too.

They break up, but don’t mean it. Noah writes Allie letters for 365 days in a row that go unanswered, and in the years that follow, makes no friends and decides that the single thing he should do with his life is restore a house for a girl he can't stand.

In Allie’s titular notebook (from which this story is told via flashback with Gena Rowlands and James Garner as the elder Allie and Noah), she writes: “They didn’t agree on much. In fact, they rarely agreed on anything.”

Can we all agree that this is unhealthy? And, frankly, just bad storytelling?

Lon should be the hero of the story; instead he's the barrier

While Allie is at college, Noah-less, she volunteers as a nurse's aide and meets Lon (played by James Marsden), a charming man in a full body cast. Once Lon (miraculously) heals, Allie accepts his offer to go dancing without being threatened to do so. They embark on a relationship filled with mutual respect, admiration and fondness for one another. By the way, Lon is rich, which is depicted as a character flaw.

After they get engaged and Allie sees Noah’s photo in the paper, she tells Lon she must take care of something.

“Take your time," Lon says, comfortingly. "Do whatever you need to do.”

What Allie needs to do is visit Noah, sleep with him and swoon over him. That's before Noah starts yelling “What do you want?!” at her, and promising a future filled with fights.

"You tell me when I’m being an arrogant (S.O.B.) and I tell you when you’re being a pain in the (butt), which you are 99% of the time!” Noah shouts at her.

What an offer of lifelong bliss!

Meanwhile, Lon doesn’t raise his voice after learning of Allie's infidelity.

“In spite of everything, I love you,” he says. “But I don’t want to convince my fiancée that she should be with me.”

Now tell me: Why would Allie choose Noah over Lon?

Probably because she confuses security with boredom, and mistakes verbal abuse for passion. Also: She thinks that the fact that she no longer paints is an indicator that she's unhappy in her relationship. Really, it might be an indicator that she doesn't actually like to paint.

'The Notebook' is bad but its messaging is worse

Hiding a shallow love story behind attractive actors isn't itself terribly negligent. But the movie does far worse than that.

It doesn't help that the film is tainted by recent news about its novelist. Sparks has been in headlines for sending and then apologizing for past emails that object to “an agenda that strives to make homosexuality open and accepted."

But even on its own, "The Notebook" teaches impressionable young women that they ought to be pursued by men who see them as prey. (Noah literally says this about Allie: "When I see something that I like, well ... I go crazy for it.")

Essentially, the film romanticizes toxic relationships and promulgates an unhealthy culture of jerk worship. My teenage self deserved better.

I must admit, the geriatric scenes still get me

Full disclosure: I still teared up at the scenes where old Noah insists on reading to old Allie, who has dementia and little chance of remembering him. Darn it, that is romantic!

But as for the rest of the movie, well, I’ll say this: It still did make me feel a lot, like it did the first time. It's just that this time, I understood my emotions as anger.

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The Notebook

Dove review.

Allie’s husband demonstrates a life-long commitment to his spouse “in sickness or in health.” He never leaves her side, and his unfailing devotion and love for her is an inspiring portrait of marriage. The film did unfortunately contain an intimate sex scene between a man and woman outside of the context of marriage. There is some crude language and profanity, but it is moderate compared to many PG-13 films. The overall moral content of the film is less than admirable but is also comparatively mild.

Dove Rating Details

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The Notebook: 7+ Thoughts I Had While Rewatching The Ryan Gosling And Rachel McAdams Movie

If you're a bird, I'm a bird.

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in The Notebook

The Notebook is one of the best romantic movies of all time. It’s a beautiful tale of an unbreakable love story between people of different social classes. On paper, they would never work. However, their love is powerful enough to break any barriers that stand in their way. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams star as Noah and Allie, the main protagonists of this love story.

I wouldn’t say The Notebook ranks in my top 5 favorite romantic movies of all time, but it’s definitely in the top 20. The undeniable chemistry between Gosling and McAdams makes it a must-watch for all romance movie fans. Because I haven’t seen a romantic movie that I’ve really loved in a while, I decided to revisit some of my favorite movie romances, and that included a rewatching of The Notebook. I have some thoughts.

Warning The Notebook spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook

Ryan Gosling And Rachel McAdams Give Some OF Their Best Performances In The Notebook

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are both really good actors. I would even argue that Gosling is one of the best actors who hasn’t won an Oscar. While rewatching The Notebook , I couldn’t help but be even more convinced of this opinion. Gosling and McAdams completely convince us that they’re in love. Not only that, you see how much they put into these performances.

In the scene where Noah hears Allie’s parents calling him trash, how can your heart not break watching Noah react to it? In the scene where Allie pretends to be a bird, how can you not feel her joy? You feel all of these characters’ emotions because McAdams, Gosling, and the entire cast give really strong performances.

For two-plus hours, Gosling becomes Noah and McAdams becomes Allie. I’ve seen many Rachel McAdams movies and many Ryan Gosling movies and Allie and Noah are some of their most beloved characters because of how good they are in these roles. The Notebook is one of the best Rachel McAdams movies and one of the best Ryan Gosling movies . They’re both really outstanding in this film.

The Costumes And Makeup Departments Are The MVPs Of This Movie

The Notebook starts with Allie and Noah as teens, then ends with them as older adults. At some point, they’re in their mid-20s. The oldest versions of Allie and Noah are played by James Garner and Gena Rowlands. The rest of the ages are played by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. They completely convince you that they’re teens at the start of the movie. This is partly because of their acting skills, and partly because of the makeup department.

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They tone back the makeup with McAdams to give her a fresh face to portray teen Allie. Clean-shaven Ryan Gosling looks like a teen. Once he has facial hair, he becomes an adult Noah who has seen some things. As Allie ages, more makeup appears to be added, which makes her look older and more sophisticated. The makeup is really subtle but completely transforms these characters.

The 1940s fashion is really gorgeous in The Notebook. Every one of Allie’s outfits, I would love to steal. They’re just so fabulous. The costume designers also use the clothes in very interesting ways. I noticed that the outfit that Allie and Noah wear when they meet, mimics the clothing that they’re wearing as older adults, at least in terms of colors. The Notebook is one of those movies where it’s clear that multiple elements, including costumes and makeup, work in harmony to make this such a memorable film.

The Notebook Breakup Scene Is One of The Best In History

Thankfully, The Notebook isn’t one of the great breakup movies , because that would totally ruin the vibe of the film. However, the film has one of the greatest movie breakup scenes. Many adore The Notebook because of all the major declarations of love, the steamy sex scene, and the enticing chemistry between the lead characters. I love all those things as well, but I also really like the main breakup scene.

It starts with Noah having his heart broken by hearing what Allie’s parents think of him. Then it leads to him ending it. We see every emotion in that scene, from anger to desperation to confusion to fear to hopelessness. It’s brilliant. Then we see parallel elements of that scene in the part where Noah fights for them to be together, but Allie doesn’t want to break Lon’s ( James Marsden ) heart.

The Notebook breakup scene just feels so realistic and raw.

Rachael McAdams and Ryan Gosling in The Notebook

The Drama And Romance Always Sweeps Me Away

Until rewatching The Notebook , I didn’t realize how much the film engulfs you. The two-plus hours pass fast because I’m so drawn into this story and this world. I know what is going to happen, but I can’t look away. It’s one of those rare films that really takes hold of you from start to finish. You feel all their emotions, you suspend reality and reason, and you let your hopeless romantic side thrive.

Like Allie and Noah’s love story, The Notebook can be all-consuming.

James Marsden and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook

I Can’t Help But Feel Bad For Lon

Lon joins the list of movie boyfriends involved in a love triangle who do nothing wrong but just aren’t the right guy. Sometimes the other guy in these types of movies sucks. Lon is not one of those guys. Allie not only cheats on him, but she does it while completely forgetting about him for days. According to my calculation, Allie and Noah only dated for a few months (before getting married and starting their life together), but she dated Lon for at least three years before completely dumping him.

Even if you love Allie and Noah together, you kind of have to think that they were quite terrible for how they treated their exes. At least poor Martha (Jamie Brown) could see their romance as a window of what could be for her. We don’t even completely get Lon’s reaction to the breakup.

For all we know, the Allie breakup could have been Lon’s villain origin story. I know that viewers aren’t supposed to hate Allie and Noah, because we’re supposed to view this all as them being so in love that they would always only want each other. However, love shouldn’t be an excuse to just cheat and neglect your fiancé.

James Garner and Gena Rowlands in The Notebook

Is The Notebook Ending Tragic Or Happy?

When I originally saw The Notebook , I considered it a happy ending. They were able to live their lives together and even leave the world together. However, watching it again, I couldn’t help but wonder if this isn’t exactly a happy ending. Yes, they got to die together, but it’s pretty terrible that they reached the stage in their life where their bodies began to betray them. That’s part of life and aging, but it’s also a pretty downer way to end a love story. Realistic? Probably? Downer? Absolutely.

The sadness of The Notebook ending makes it easy to see why some versions don’t show it. It’s definitely a happy ending that they got to live a full life together and were able to leave the world together. The tragedy comes with the whole aging process and how it can disrupt even a beautiful love story, even if only temporarily.

Other Thoughts

The Notebook rewatch sparked so many thoughts, some silly, some profound, and more just ramblings. Here are my other thoughts.

I think I just really love period piece love stories. Something about them makes everything more tragic and heightened.
The Notebook really has a thing for birds. I’m assuming they’re a metaphor for Allie feeling caged by parents, and society, but finally being able to fly free at the end.
I love writing letters, but even I find the idea of 365 letters kind of tedious.
I had completely erased the war part of The Notebook from my memory. It’s so quick that it’s barely in there.
I would love a prequel about Allie’s mom and her ex. Basically, Noah and Allie, but one that doesn’t work out.
The Notebook has so many great quotes.
Rachel McAdams’ lungs must have hurt with all the random screaming moments in the movie.

You can find The Notebook and plenty of other great romance movies on HBO Max .

Stream The Notebook on HBO Max .

Spent most of my life in various parts of Illinois, including attending college in Evanston. I have been a life long lover of pop culture, especially television, turned that passion into writing about all things entertainment related. When I'm not writing about pop culture, I can be found channeling Gordon Ramsay by kicking people out the kitchen.

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I Just Rewatched The Notebook , & I Have Terrible News

Is it really an epic love story — or a cautionary tale about a toxic relationship?

'The Notebook' is considered one of the greatest love movies, but it also features telltale signs of...

The year is 2004. Bennifer has called it quits, Friends is airing its last season, and Facebook has just launched. It’s also the year millennials will remember well for bringing one of our favorite romances of all time to the big screen — The Notebook . The movie that launched the careers of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams was a massive hit, leading to Hollywood producing just about every title in the Nicholas Sparks library. As for my millennial self, this movie was a life-changing experience. What even was love if not shouting “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird!” at your significant other?! This was the movie at middle school sleepovers, a tearjerker that shared the everlasting love of Allie and Noah.

And so, fellow millennials , it’s with great despair that I tell you I have terrible news. I recently rewatched The Notebook as a 31-year-old with far more life experience, and it is… not good. In fact, what I once viewed as an epic love story was borderline toxic .

Now, don’t get me wrong — the chemistry and acting of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are next level. In fact, I think the duo (along with the pair playing their older counterparts, James Garner and Gena Rowlands) is the major reason it’s easy to miss some of the more problematic parts of the story.

The meet-cute is a major red flag.

The meet-cute in this movie is far from cute. Noah is attracted to Allie, leading him to ask her out while she's on a date at the fair. The smart girl says no, as you should if any random stranger approaches you while on a date and demands you go out with them.

However, Noah takes this an uncomfortable step further by dangling himself off a Ferris wheel, threatening to let himself fall to an almost certain death until Allie agrees to go out with him. Listen, I would have had trouble saying no to a date with 2004-era Ryan Gosling, too (even more trouble with 2023-era Gosling). However, the character's insistence on not taking several no's for an answer is a clear red flag — and an immediately cringey start to the pair's romance. Noah's line, "When I see something that I like, well, I go crazy for it," encapsulates his character in a way that makes him far more stalker-y than romantic.

This is not a healthy relationship.

Allie and Noah start their romance as teens, so a lot of their early ups and downs can be explained away by being young, hormonal, and experiencing their first love together. That being said, by the time these two reconnect, they are old enough that they should know this is not a healthy relationship.

The two argue about… everything. In fact, they hold up their fighting as a sign of their true love, because what is constant arguing if not passion? But that’s simply not true. Beneath their constant bickering, I started to wonder: Do these two actually have anything in common?!

Her alternate choice is… actually the better one.

In any classic romance, you’ll have an alternate suitor who fights for the lead’s affection. However, there are almost always apparent flaws that make it clear they’re the wrong choice. In The Notebook , though, Allie’s alternate pick of James Marsden’s Lon is — arguably — the better choice?!

Aside from being packaged with Marsden’s face, Lon also seems kind and is far more respectful of boundaries. The biggest factor against him seems to be that her parents approve of him because he’s rich. Now, if he doesn’t make Allie happy, he’s obviously a no-go. But it’s hard to really root for the main duo in a romance when there’s a third person who seems like the far less angry and argumentative choice.

I have to confess; one part of the movie still works: the older versions of Allie and Noah. I’ll fully admit that, despite cringing throughout most of my rewatch, watching Noah re-tell their romance to a dementia-stricken Allie still got me (I’m only human). But I still finished watching and was left with one overwhelming thought — the story of The Notebook is a toxic romance hidden beneath fantastic acting.

This article was originally published on Feb. 27, 2023

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"The Notebook": Movie Review and Analysis

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Updated: 23 November, 2023

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Works Cited

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Schreurs, J., Jarodzka, H., De Laat, M., & Sloep, P. (2018). The effects of online vs. blended learning on student engagement, learning outcomes, and experience. Educational Technology Research and Development, 66(1), 57-79.
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. US Department of Education.
Sitzmann, T., Kraiger, K., Stewart, D., & Wisher, R. (2006). The comparative effectiveness of web-based and classroom instruction: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 59(3), 623-664.

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Critic’s Notebook

I Saw My Anxiety Reflected in ‘Inside Out 2.’ It Floored Me.

In a way that’s both cathartic and devastating, Pixar’s latest portrays how anxiety can take hold, our critic writes.

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A still from the movie “Inside Out 2” shows the character of Anxiety — an orange cartoon with big eyes and frayed hair — waving to other animated characters.

By Maya Phillips

At the climax of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Riley, a freshly pubescent teen with a gaggle of new personified emotions, becomes so overwhelmed with anxiety that she has a panic attack.

In the theater, I whispered to my friend that I’d forgotten to bring my panic attack medication. I’d said it as a joke — but at the sight of this anxious animated teenager, my whole body’s choreography changed. My muscles tensed. I pressed my right palm down hard to my chest and took a few deep yoga breaths, trying to cut off the familiar beginnings of an attack.

This depiction of how quickly anxiety can take hold was overwhelming. I saw my own experiences reflected in Riley’s. “Inside Out 2” felt personal to me in a way that was equally cathartic and devastating: It’s a movie that so intimately understands how my anxiety disorder upends my everyday life.

“Inside Out 2” picks up two years after the 2015 film “Inside Out,” as Riley is about to start high school. With puberty comes a group of new emotions, led by Anxiety. A manic orange sprite voiced by Maya Hawke, Anxiety bumps out the old emotions and inadvertently wreaks havoc on Riley’s belief system and self-esteem as she tries to manage the stress of a weekend hockey camp.

When an emotion takes over in the “Inside Out” movies, a control board in Riley’s mind changes to that feeling’s color; Anxiety’s takeover, however, is more absolute. She creates a stronghold in Riley’s imagination, where she forces mind workers to illustrate negative hypothetical scenarios for Riley’s future. Soon, Riley’s chief inner belief is of her inadequacy; the emotions hear “I’m not good enough” as a low, rumbling refrain in her mind.

I’m familiar with anxiety’s hold on the imagination; my mind is always writing the script to the next worst day of my life. It’s already embraced all possibilities of failure. And my anxiety’s ruthless demands for perfection often turn my thoughts into an unrelenting roll-call of self-criticisms and insecurities.

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COMMENTS

The Notebook movie review & film summary (2004)
Roger Ebert praises the sentimental fantasy based on Nicholas Sparks' novel, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as young lovers and Gena Rowlands and James Garner as old ones. He admires the performances, the photography and the director's sensitivity to the story.
The Notebook (2004)
User Reviews. "The Notebook" is an American 2-hour movie from 2004, so this one is also already way over a decade old now. It is considered to be a defining movie of the 21st century when it comes to romance, heart-throb and cheering for the characters to become a couple. Lead actors Gosling and McAdams were a couple themselves back then and ...
The Notebook
In 1940s South Carolina, mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and rich girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) are desperately in love. But her parents don't approve. When Noah goes off to serve in World ...
FILM REVIEW; When Love Is Madness And Life a Straitjacket
In the strongest scenes of ''The Notebook,'' the screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's treacly best seller, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams break through the barrier to evoke high-strung ...
The Notebook
Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets
The Notebook (2004)
The Notebook: Directed by Nick Cassavetes. With Tim Ivey, Gena Rowlands, Starletta DuPois, James Garner. An elderly man reads to a woman with dementia the story of two young lovers whose romance is threatened by the difference in their respective social classes.
The Notebook
A sweeping love story told by a man (Garner) reading from his faded notebook to a woman in a nursing home (Rowlands), The Notebook follows the lives of two North Carolina teens from very different worlds who spend one indelible summer together before they are separated, first by her parents and then by WWII. (New Line Productions)
The Notebook critic reviews
Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
The Notebook Movie Review
THE NOTEBOOK is a story about a 1940s summer romance between Allie ( Rachel McAdams ), the daughter of wealthy parents, and Noah ( Ryan Gosling ), a working-class boy. They're crazy about each other, but her parents disapprove. When Allie goes to college, Noah writes to her every day, but Allie's mother ( Joan Allen) withholds his letters.
The Notebook
A poor country boy and a rich city girl share an extraordinary love that spans the decades, enduring separation, war and disease. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
'The Notebook' at 20
When The Notebook was released in the summer of 2004, critics and audiences seemed split in their response to the film. Based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, and starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling as young, star-crossed lovers in 1940s USA, The Notebook was a hit at the box office and was particularly popular with young adults, winning a slew of accolades at both the ...
The Notebook (2004)
It's a film about falling in love and looking back on it, and it avoids many of the genre's syrupy dangers. Sadly, the elements that made the book special did not survive the transition to the screen. A determined and often affecting romance that doesn't speak down to audiences. Amid the sticky-sweet swamp of Jeremy Leven's script, Rowlands and ...
The Notebook (2004) Movie Reviews
Audience Score. The percentage of users who made a verified movie ticket purchase and rated this 3.5 stars or higher. Learn more.
The Notebook 2004, directed by Nick Cassavetes
He reads from the notebook to the now-elderly Allie (Rowlands), who spends her dotage befogged by an Alzheimer's-like illness. Apparently, Allie can no longer recognise her husband or children ...
The Notebook
The Notebook had its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 20, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 25, 2004. Despite generally mixed reviews from critics, Gosling and McAdams were singled out for praise for their performances. The film was a sleeper hit at the box office, grossing $117 million against its $29 million budget, and has ...
I Finally Watched The Notebook , and I Have Some Thoughts
I Finally Watched. The Notebook. , and I Have Some Thoughts. By Kyle Buchanan. Photo: Maya Robinson and Photo by New Line Cinema. We all have our cinematic blind spots, and until yesterday, The ...
The Notebook Review
The Notebook Review. An elderly man reads a 1940s love story to a woman in a nursing home. It tells of rich young Allie and poor young Noah, who are forced apart after a summer of passion. Will ...
The Notebook Review
The Notebook is a movie about love conquering all, and all that crap. The girls will dry their eyes, while the guys will roll theirs. The acting and directing are well-done, but it's an incredibly ...
'The Notebook' is the worst and I didn't realize it 15 years ago
On the 15th anniversary of "The Notebook," we re-watched the Nicholas Sparks adaptation starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. It didn't go well.
The Notebook
This powerful love story is based on Nicholas Sparks' 1996 best-seller. As an elderly woman (Gena Rowlands) suffers with Alzheimer's in a hospital, her husband (James Garner) tries to trigger memories of their marriage by reading from a journal that chronicles their life-long love for each other. A problem arises early in the story as the young woman, Allie (Rachel McAdams), is shown to ...
The Notebook: 7+ Thoughts I Had While Rewatching The Ryan ...
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are both really good actors. I would even argue that Gosling is one of the best actors who hasn't won an Oscar. While rewatching The Notebook, I couldn't help ...
I Just Rewatched The Notebook , & I Have Terrible News
This was the movie at middle school sleepovers, a tearjerker that shared the everlasting love of Allie and Noah. And so, fellow millennials, it's with great despair that I tell you I have terrible news. I recently rewatched The Notebook as a 31-year-old with far more life experience, and it is… not good. In fact, what I once viewed as an ...
"The Notebook": Movie Review and Analysis
The Notebook is an incredibly likeable movie, it has all the flavors that the perfect tragic romance movie requires, a rich girl who falls in love with a poor boy, distance, the girl meeting another guy, and the discovery of long lost love. The movie makes one believe in the power of true love, and if something is meant to be then it will happen.
"Inside Out 2" Understands How Anxiety Effects Me
In a way that's both cathartic and devastating, Pixar's latest portrays how anxiety can take hold, our critic writes.

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