The Notebook | Into Each Life, Some Mush Must Come

Ah, love. Bane of our existence, yet it could be the very thing that keeps us alive. The Notebook is yet another love story, harkening to a world where things are more straightforward, where a boy from the wrong side of the tracks could woo a girl from the “right side” over the course of a summer and she would fall in love with him; where parents could be villainous and prevent their daughters from seeing certain unsuitable people; and, most importantly, where true love could prevail.

The Notebook is a faithful rendition of the poignant Nicholas Sparks bestseller, which dealt with first love, lost love and the debilitation of Alzheimer’s disease in a slim volume. Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton come from different sides of the track. They meet during an idyllic summer filled with the exuberance of youth and the first stirrings of passion. Rich girl, poor (albeit literary-inclined) boy—this situation inevitably leads to parental displeasure. Separation, intercepted letters, and a world war later, Allie is engaged to be married to prize catch Lon Hammond, who, like Noah, is a war veteran but is from old money. Circumstance brings the former lovers to each other’s periphery and Allie has to make a choice between two men, either of whom could be the love of her life. Meanwhile, in the present time, Duke is reading to an older Allie from a notebook: Allie is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and there are only a few lucid moments when she is herself again.

The Notebook is a good-looking story. The lighting is almost always perfect, and Ryan Gosling (young Noah), Rachel McAdams (young Allie) and James Marsden (Lon) are a beautiful set of people. Even the older Noah and Allie, portrayed by veteran actors James Garner and Gena Rowlands are nicely shot and impeccably dressed—perhaps partly due to the fact that Rowlands is director Nick Cassavetes’ mother. Previous Nicholas Sparks adaptations Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember were also prettily done. Therein lies the beef. Sparks stories, and particularly, Sparks leading men, seem quite prettily perfect. Admittedly they have a character flaw or two but this ends up to be quite endearing. In the case of Noah Calhoun, his character is written so compositely unsullied that any mistakes that he might make are easily acceptable and, in fact, make him more endearing. Unfortunately for real girls, there seem to be very few, if any, real men, who would actually be like Noah Calhoun. And they would most probably be taken. Or gay.

As always, old hands Garner, Rowlands, and Joan Allen, give solid performances; but it is especially noteworthy that Gosling is getting more range as an actor, actually portraying a “normal” person in this film, rather than the troubled, psychotic youths he had previously portrayed in movies such as Murder by Numbers and The United States of Leland.

Admittedly, director Cassavetes pulls out all the emotional stops in this tear-jerker. The plot is simple just like the book, moving back and forth between present-day Duke reading from the notebook interspersed with flashbacks to Noah and Allie falling in love and then losing each other. There is nothing earth-shaking, but rather something comforting, about simple love stories such as The Notebook, because, beneath layers of cynicism and world-weariness, the joy of love—be it the innocence of first love, or the strength of everlasting love—still does make us smile. Never mind if you’ll never meet anyone remotely like Noah Calhoun.

Weepy date movie. Better watched with girlfriends, with a lot of popcorn and sighing.