The Notebook (film)
Encyclopedia
The Notebook is a 2004 romance film
directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel of the same name
by Nicholas Sparks
. The film stars Ryan Gosling
and Rachel McAdams
as a young couple who fall in love during the early 1940s. Their story is narrated from the present day by an elderly man played by James Garner
, telling the tale to a fellow nursing home resident, played by Gena Rowlands
.
, South Carolina
. Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams
) is a high school girl from a wealthy family spending the summer in Seabrook. At a carnival, Allie meets Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling
), a local boy who takes a fondness towards her. After Noah's several attempts to go on a date with Allie, she finally agrees, resulting in both of them falling in love with each other over the summer. Once Allie's rich parents have met Noah, they disapprove of him. After a fight with Noah, Allie is forced to leave Seabrook a week earlier than planned, leaving her unable to say goodbye to her beloved Noah. After waiting several years for Noah to write to her, Allie becomes engaged to Lon. After seeing Noah's photo in a newspaper she travels back to Seabrook to check on Noah, recognizes the strong feelings she still has for him. Allie is then forced to choose between her fiancé and her first love. Throughout the movie, flashbacks show the elderly man and the elderly woman reading. It is revealed that she is Allie and he is the one she chose. He is Noah. Allie has developed Dementia
. They die in each other's arms.
reported that 52% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 149 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 53 out of 100, based on 34 reviews. Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
praised the film, awarding it with three-and-a-half stars out of four; calling the photography "striking in its rich, saturated effects" and stating that the "actors are blessed by good material."
and the United States
and grossed $13.5 million in 2,303 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the box office. The film grossed a total of $115.6 million worldwide, $81 million in Canada and the United States and $34.6 million in other countries.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel of the same name
The Notebook
The Notebook is a 1996 romantic novel by American novelist Nicholas Sparks, based on a true story. The novel was later adapted into a popular romance film by the same name in 2004.-Background:...
by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks (author)
Nicholas Charles Sparks is an internationally-bestselling American novelist and screenwriter. He has 16 published novels, with thematic ideas that include cancer, death and love. Six have been adapted to film, including Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe,...
. The film stars Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
and Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
as a young couple who fall in love during the early 1940s. Their story is narrated from the present day by an elderly man played by James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, telling the tale to a fellow nursing home resident, played by Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
.
Plot
An elderly man reads from a notebook to an elderly woman about a story between two young lovers, Allie and Noah. The story dates back to the summer of 1940, on Seabrook IslandSeabrook Island, South Carolina
Seabrook Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,250 at the 2000 census.As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and used by the U.S...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
) is a high school girl from a wealthy family spending the summer in Seabrook. At a carnival, Allie meets Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
), a local boy who takes a fondness towards her. After Noah's several attempts to go on a date with Allie, she finally agrees, resulting in both of them falling in love with each other over the summer. Once Allie's rich parents have met Noah, they disapprove of him. After a fight with Noah, Allie is forced to leave Seabrook a week earlier than planned, leaving her unable to say goodbye to her beloved Noah. After waiting several years for Noah to write to her, Allie becomes engaged to Lon. After seeing Noah's photo in a newspaper she travels back to Seabrook to check on Noah, recognizes the strong feelings she still has for him. Allie is then forced to choose between her fiancé and her first love. Throughout the movie, flashbacks show the elderly man and the elderly woman reading. It is revealed that she is Allie and he is the one she chose. He is Noah. Allie has developed Dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. They die in each other's arms.
Cast
- Ryan GoslingRyan GoslingRyan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
as Noah Calhoun - Rachel McAdamsRachel McAdamsRachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
as Allie Hamilton - James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as Older Noah Calhoun - Gena RowlandsGena RowlandsGena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
as Older Allie Calhoun - Sam ShepardSam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
as Frank Calhoun - Joan AllenJoan AllenJoan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
as Anne Hamilton - David ThorntonDavid Thornton (actor)David Thornton is an American actor. He is the husband of Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, whom he married in 1991. Their son, Declyn Wallace Thornton Lauper, was born on November 19, 1997.- Filmography :...
as John Hamilton - James MarsdenJames MarsdenJames Paul Marsden is an American actor, singer and former Versace model. He is known for playing the superhero Cyclops in the first three X-Men films and for his roles in other commercially successful films such as Hop, Superman Returns, Hairspray, Enchanted, The Box, and 27 Dresses.-Early life...
as Lon Hammond - Kevin Connolly as Fin
Critical response
The Notebook received a mixed reaction from critics. The review aggregate at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 52% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 149 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 53 out of 100, based on 34 reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
praised the film, awarding it with three-and-a-half stars out of four; calling the photography "striking in its rich, saturated effects" and stating that the "actors are blessed by good material."
Box office
The film opened June 25, 2004 in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and grossed $13.5 million in 2,303 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the box office. The film grossed a total of $115.6 million worldwide, $81 million in Canada and the United States and $34.6 million in other countries.