Title: The Notebook
Year: 2004
Director: Nick Cassavetes
I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who was utterly offended by my comments that The Notebook was just 'okay'. In my opinion, it is one of the most overrated movies of all time, tied with Titanic, but that's a story for another day. Given my friend's reaction and the fact that I had not watched the movie in close to a decade, I decided to re-watch it with a fresh set of eyes.
To start off, The Notebook was adapted from a book with a similar title by Nicholas Sparks. Nicholas Sparks is hands down one of my favourite authors! I am a huge fan of his work specifically; The Longest Ride and The Last Song. The Notebook is a story about a summer love that seems determined not to end. Which to start off defies what summer love is all about. If you have ever had the pleasure of experiencing one, you know that it's not meant to last, making it the more exciting. It's a "let's make the most out of the time we have" kind of situation. But not for Noah and Ally.
Let's dive right in to the characters. Noah is a small town boy who works a minimum wage job at the local coal mine and of course he falls deep in love with the rich girl who has her life set out for her. How do they meet? At a local fun fair where Noah immediately identifies Ally as the girl of his dreams. Despite her resistance (stalker alert), Noah is determined to take her out going as far as faking a suicide attempt to get her to say yes.
Determined to not let their polar opposite backgrounds stand in the way, the two spend a blissful summer together doing whatever teenagers did for fun in the 1940s. But one thing is painfully clear, they are both hard headed and they are constantly fighting. However, love conquers all and those silly fights are diffused by a simple kiss. As the summer draws to an end, it is revealed that Ally will be going to college at a much farther place than she and Noah had discussed, all the way in New York. Like any other young couple in love, they are in denial of how this will affect their relationship. Until one night they have their biggest fight (some could call it a break up) which ends up with Ally's parents moving her back home a week earlier than had been planned.
Dearest Noah who just can't get over feisty Ally spends a whole year writing her letters, one for each day. Talk about romantic, where can I get myself a Noah? *sigh* Unfortunately Ally's mother intercepts all the letters and Ally doesn't receive them. Years pass and Ally finally moves on to the point of getting engaged. Faithful Noah however is still holding on to the hope that one day she will come back (realistic much!). As fate would have it, their paths cross again and that old spark is still there. Ally cheats on her fiance with Noah, spending days with him at the mansion he built for her. Seriously, where can I get myself a Noah?? It's important to note that even amidst their reunion, their old problems still exist. They can never agree on anything, except their love for each other, and Ally is still economically speaking, out of Noah's league.
Because it's a romantic movie, the two end up together and go on to have many kids and live happily ever after, at least for some time. In their old age Ally is diagnosed with dementia causing her to forget the beautiful life she built with her husband. Noah, the ever romantic, reads their life story to her daily as a way to cure her? Even though medically speaking there is no point of return for her, she occasionally remembers. Now here is where they lost me. A love true enough to perform miracles beyond medicine? I can buy that. But a love so strong they are able to die together at the same time holding hands? Overkill!
Do not get me wrong, I am a romantic, I am a sucker for romance you can ask anyone. But The Notebook just does not do it for me. There is a delicate balance you have to observe when dealing with romance and just one misstep can throw the whole thing off, which is what they did here. Out of 10, I give it a solid 6.5.
If there is a movie you would like for me to review, please let me know in the comments below!
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