11/16/06 The Notebook

The Notebook (2004), directed by Nick Cassavetes

watched solo; DVD (borrowed from Sarah) @ home; suggested by Sarah & Jason

Call me a sucker for listening to my sister on this one...but then again, call me a sucker for listening to my guy friends about this one too. This just seemed to be one of those romantic dramas that pulled at the heart-strings of every warm-blooded person who's seen it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love nothing more than to curl up with a pint of Haagen-Dazs in my bathrobe & slippers and cry my little eyes out like the next girl...but I wasn't expecting something phenomenal from a film that garnered acclaim and awards from the teeny-bopper set of the Teen Choice Awards' "Choice Date Movie" or MTV Movie Awards "Best On-Screen Kiss" nods. The film had a lot of power potential behind it's making, in adaptation from uber-successful sexy romantic novelist Nicholas Sparks (also came up with blockbuster romance adaptations in other movies I would care not to see "Message In A Bottle" and "A Walk To Remember"), and through the directing lens of uber-hip pedigree Nick Cassavetes (of "She's So Lovely" and "John Q"). I claim that Cassavetes is uber-hip due in large part to his parental units in John & Gena. John just so happened to be the forefront pioneer in American cinema verite (with such classics as "Faces" and "Shadows"), a style that did not seem to rub off to much on his son, but at least he picked up the knack for directing. Equally as talented is his actress mother Gena Rowlands (who Nick also directs here in one of the lead roles of the film as the elderly woman). The story is one that will undoubtedly make you well up with emotions as you see the beautiful tale begin to unfold before your eyes (if you can see past all the damn tears). I don't want to ruin the overall build-up of emotions that will take over you naturally (unless like millions, you've already heard about this incessantly from your younger sisters or your sensitive male friends)...but it is absolutely a touching and moving story to tell. The story begins with an elderly man (James Garner) reading and reminiscing a story to an elderly woman (Rowlands), whose memory is slipping away in the nursing home she now calls home. Most of the movie is told in retrospect through this man's narration, and tells of the meeting and eventual love that blossoms between two young lovers (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams...could you ask for a hotter young couple?). The story takes the usually drastic and traumatic courses that most powerful love stories do, but with such bittersweet twists & turns along the way. Definitely a movie (and a novel) worth checking out...especially if you're in need of a good cry. You big sap. And it is a very hot kiss...in the ever-present torrential rains that seem to frame up any romantic encounters/reunions. Why don't we all just move to Seattle and fall in love?!

4 out of 5 stars