The Notebook (2004)

Despite the fact that I’m completely indifferent to the romantic genre, I decided to watch “The Notebook” to see what all the fuss was about.

Disliked by critics but embraced by general audiences, “The Notebook” follows two stories simultaneously; the first centres on a nauseating and generic love affair that, like dozens of other identical films, defies class barriers. The other narrative revolves around two elderly people in a retirement home reading a book about the younger couple in the other plot line.

So was this a tearjerker worthy of “Titanic” or yet another wet squib in a genre spewing with overly sentimental tripe?

For me to fully explain my thoughts on “The Notebook”, I’ve got to make it apparent that the two storylines in the film vary wildly in tone, emotional weight and overall quality. Whilst the section of the movie that housed the hammy and soppy romance between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams bored me silly, the scenes focused on the bittersweet relationship between Gena Rowlands and James Garner were brilliantly acted and surprisingly moving. So whilst I detested aspects of “The Notebook”, the film as a whole wasn’t without some redeeming moments.

The cast in “The Notebook” are a mixed bag. On the one hand, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams deliver overly syrupy performances that failed to make me care about their characters. I didn’t find their relationship believable or realistic as they spend most of the film snogging each other for minutes on end, before suddenly screaming at each other. Their lack of chemistry is ironic because Gosling and McAdams apparently didn’t like each other for a while during filming, but after they aired their grievances, they started dating. Unsurprisingly, they’re no longer together.

Although I’m sure he’s been paid a lot of money over the years, I feel sorry for James Marsden. In almost every film I’ve seen him in, Marsden plays exactly the same type of character, a nice guy that ends up losing the love of his life because his girlfriend’s true love is the protagonist of the movie and therefore a more popular actor. This doesn’t just occur in “The Notebook”, it also happens in “Superman Returns” and the “X-Men” movies. At least Russel Brand’s E.B. in “Hop” didn’t leave him for Ryan Gosling, Brandon Routh or Hugh Jackman!

As previously mentioned, “The Notebook” really shines when James Garner and Gena Rowlands are on screen. Firstly, the two actors have exceptional chemistry, which makes the characters relationship feel organic and authentic. Secondly, these scenes are easily the most distressing to watch in the film, the filmmakers and actors did a terrific job of creating an accurate depiction of how dementia affects people, which gave “The Notebook” a level of nuance and depth that it wouldn’t have had otherwise.

In summary, “The Notebook” is a conflicting experience. It’s a poignantly-told narrative that’s inner message is that true love can survive whatever life throws at you, featuring two compelling performances that perfectly capture how devastating memory loss can be for its victims and for those that care about them. Sadly, this excellent tale is surrounded by a weakly written, by-the-numbers and schmaltzy romance that even a non-fan of this genre like me has seen many times before. However, despite its flaws, I would recommend “The Notebook”, it may be a slog to get through certain sequences, but there is a beautifully executed movie somewhere within it.