I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot ...
I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot of baby reviews to come. I also post on Dooyoo under the name Whizz11
Member since:07.09.2007
Reviews:412
Members who trust:44
Having watched this film on Channel 4 at the weekend (I have the DVD also but just had to watch it) I've decided to review it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Although, I see that a lot of people have already seen it as the UK premier on Channel 4 attracted 1 million viewers!!
The Notebook is a beautiful romance that still makes me cry after numerous viewings. It is poignant, romantic, sad, hopeful and uplifting all rolled into one.
The Notebook was actually developed from a book written by the American author Nicholas Sparks in 1996. It spent over a year as a hardcover best seller.
The film version was released in 2004. It follows the story of Noah and Allie, childhood sweethearts who eventually find each other again after years apart. The story is very cleverly told as a flashback. It begins in a modern day nursing home with an elderly man (who we later are told is Noah - but in my opinion it is never a question whether he is Noah or not, although I guess they do disguise his name to leave it up in the air) reading a love story from his "notebook"
to another patient in the home, his wife Allie. She is suffering from senile dementia and does not realize the story is about her. It breaks Noah's heart to see her like that and hopes that by reading the notebook she will start to remember and he will have his Allie back. These scenes are so moving and tug at the heartstrings. The story is so real and could happen to us all and that realization makes me appreciate my husband even more and the time we have together now and I hope that I will always remember him in the future and have a love like the one that Allie and Noah share. (Anyway, enough of the mush but those are the feeling it brings up for me!)
The film is then mostly set in the roaring 40's when Noah and Allie are teenagers. She is from a well to do family and he works at the mill but when they meet they have a whirlwind summer romance but you can tell that it goes deeper than that. The characters are played by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. I think they were fairly unknown when this film came out which I like because there is a sweet innocence about their performances. They are actually a couple in real life as well and like Noah and Allie have broken up and gotten together. I find myself almost rooting for them in real life to stay together too because I think they make such a sweet sweet couple.
As the film is set in the 40's the clothing used is fantastic. She wears some really cute outfits and the locations used are beautiful too. The film is set in Seabrook Island, South Carolina so conjures up all the images of the old south, gorgeous big plantation houses etc. Noah's dream is actually to restore an old house in the town and during the period when he is without Allie he lovingly restores it as she wanted. When she comes back and sees the house it's a really touching part as he painted it white like she wanted with blue shutters!
Of course, Allie's parents are not happy with her seeing an unsuitable boy so they spilt up when she moves away to go to college. They both move on with their lives in their own way, Noah like I said building the house and Allie finding a new, suitable love but they still think and dream about each other and I believe have each other in their hearts in everything they do and every decision they make. Allie is happy with her new love, played by James Marsden but all that changes when she sees a photo of Noah in the paper. She goes back to close that chapter of her life but then ends up opening that door to a whole new world. She then has the biggest decision of her life to make. I know which decisions I would have made.
I won't give the end away but it is extremely touching and beautiful. The final scene shows a flock of birds flying away depicting Allie's wish that both she and Noah could be birds.
The film did really well, grossing a total of $115.6 million worldwide - $81 million in the United States and Canada and $34.6 million elsewhere.
The film is now quite cheap to buy on DVD as it has been out for a while. In fact, I did a quick search on Amazon and found it for £4. The film itself lasts for approximately 123 minutes and includes various features such as casting, the theatrical trailer and 3 featurettes.
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Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Very good review of the film and, as ever, I'm sorry for the H, but for this to be a full DVD review, I would prefer to see a review of the extras in the same detail as your review of the film, not just a list of them.
ChemicalRomance 26.09.2008 16:42
I've heard lots about this film but I've never wanted to see it.. Good Review x
Advantages: Great acting, makes you cry (c'mon it's good to cry), good weepy ending. Disadvantages: Clicheed and unrealistic - You feel like you've seen it all before.
Renza 17.01.2009 (17.01.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Notebook (DVD)
Sep 26th, 2008
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
