There are some films that take you by surprise, and leave you with a sense of heartache. It is not a bad heartache, but more of a longing. A longing for something you see in the film, a characteristic that a character has, the dream mansion, or the perfect love. In the film The Notebook, the one thing a person will walk way with is the longing for the perfect love story.
Like many big screen classics, The Notebook is based off of a book, which bears its same name. The book was written by author Nicholas Sparks, who was unknown at the time, in 1994. The next year, the book was sold to Warner Brothers and published in 1996 (www.nicholassparks.com). This was the start of many heartfelt novels Sparks would pen, including another well known story that was brought to the big screen, A Walk to Remember, in 2001 (www.nicholassparks.com) .
For the most part, the film does say true to the story, except for a few details that are really minor. First are the ages of Noah and Allie. In the book, Allie is only fifteen and Noah is seventeen. In the film adaptation, Allie is said to be seventeen, and it is assumed that Noah is also (www.hubpages.com).
The length of the separation of Noah and Allie is also changed for the film. In the book, the couple was apart for fourteen years before they are reunited, while in the movie it is only half of that time (www.hubpages.com). Another difference is the time span of World War II and the summer Noah and Allie met. In the movie, the war breaks out one year after the summer in which the two met. In the book, it is a decade after their meeting (www.hubpages.com).
The film centers on the trials and tribulations of two people, Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling, and Allie Hamilton, played by Rachel McAdams, who met during their seventeenth summer on earth who were destined to be soul mates (www.imdb.com ). At the end of that fateful summer, Allie’s parents drag her back home in the North to return to school because they do not approve of Noah, since he does not meet up with their standards, financially. She is not even allowed to say goodbye to Noah, leaving him confused on why she left without saying a word.
To prove his love for her, he writes her a letter every day for three hundred and sixty five days. From then on, their story unfolds into how one summer of what started out as racing hormones turned into an undying love that was able to survive several years of complete separation.
Yes, this plot sounds extremely cliché, but what separates this film from being another chick flick, is that the story is told in flash backs. The story is being revealed by Noah, who is now around eighty years old. He is living in a nursing home, taking care of his love, Allie, who is suffering from the later stages of dementia. She has no idea who she is, or that her soul mate is sitting right beside her.
Although the doctors tell him that there is no possible way Allie will recognize him, Noah retells their story to her every day, in hope that maybe she will come back, even if it is only for a little bit. James Garner and Jenna Rowlands play the aged version of the soul mates ( www.imdb.com) . Watching the actors interact with each other, one would think that these two actors were actually a married couple dealing with the pains of growing old.
This film does differ drastically to love stories, especially teenage love stories. Other acclaimed teenage chick flicks such as Never Been Kissed, Sixteen Candles and A Cinderella Story, lack the depth that The Notebook pertains. Their plot lines consist of the guy chasing after the girl, or vice versa. The biggest conflict is either their snobby students at their high school, uptight parents, or just the world being against them because of their youth. These things seem downright frivolous when you compare them to the hardships the characters in The Notebook face. The other films do not develop into anything either. They just take place during a span of one year, and end while the characters are the same age. Nothing is said about what happened after high school, how long the stayed together, or any other sort of resolution.
Another reason this film is different than other movies is the music choices. In The Notebook, the music in film is reflective on the time era of the story, which is in the late 1930s to the 1940s. Songs such as “I’ll be seeing you” sung by Sammy Fain, expresses the emotion that was felt during World War Two when soldiers were deploying and not sure if they were ever going to see their families again. In the film, Noah goes to serve in World War Two, while Allie serves as a nurse to take care of injured soldiers. As Noah is retelling their story to Allie, he says “Every soldier that Allie treated was Noah to her” (www.imdb.com).
What is also unique is how the song is played again in the film when Allie (the older version) briefly comes out of her dementia for a few fleeting moments, and then slips right back into it. Her husband stands there heartbroken, as the song plays while the nurses sedate her. Again, the song plays to signify that they may never be together the same way again, but their memories will always keep their relationship alive.
The settings of certain scenes are what ultimately make the film the bleeding romantic classic that it is. The nursing home where the aged couple lives is set on a lake, where it is peaceful and tranquil.
The lake is also reference to a scene that will appear later in the film, in which a reunited Noah and Allie are out on a small row boat. The skies open up, and as soon as the clouds give way, so does their emotions. It is in the pouring rain on the lake when Allie confronts Noah on why he never tried to find her, and he explains that he did. Finally knowing the truth and realizing she does still love him, they kiss passionately in the downpour. This scene is crucial because it finally reunites the couple physically.
Although this story is not a generic teenage love saga, it is still about teenagers. The actors were not teenager’s while they were filming the movie (Gosling was 24, McAdams 28) (www.imdb.com). This was obvious even by looking at the actors, since they look much more mature and developed than most seventeen year olds. They were the proper age to play the grown version of Allie and Noah, but it could have been more believable if younger actors were cast to play the teenage Allie and Noah.
Despite their real ages, Gosling and Mcadams were able to capture the hormone induced lovebirds well. There are many scenes that show the two teenagers kissing passionately, but there is one moment that captures the innocence of both. Noah and Allie plan to have intercourse, but Allie is having doubts because she is a virgin and only seventeen. The scene goes from both of them slowly removing their clothes, to laying there unable to actually go through with it. The way this was revealed, tastefully and so poignantly, is another reason why the movie is so different than any other teenage love film. It shows true awkwardness and doubt
As much applause as this film warrants there are elements that take away from the luster of the movie. They are many characters in the movie that are not totally development, and very fatigue. Characters such as Allie’s father (played by David Thornton) and Sarah, Allie’s friend who introduced her to Noah, (Heather Wahlquist), are two main staples in Allie’s life that are only mentioned briefly (www.imdb.com). Nothing is ever mentioned about Sarah after the first ten minutes and Mr. Hamilton’s part is minuscule compared to his spouse in the film, played by Joan Allen.
Many may say that this film is only for women, which is quite the opposite. The story is meant for anyone who has experienced or longed for true love, and who has longed for someone who is unattainable. Anyone who has experienced life itself can appreciate this film, and perhaps have their faith in true love restored (www.hubpages.com).
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Hubpages.com. 2007. Hubpages inc. April 12 2008. [http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Notebook--The-Book-vs-The-Movie--You-Decide].
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