I think we’ve begun to replace the term “romance”
with “romantic-comedy” nowadays. With Jennifer Lopez,
Julia Roberts, and Sandra Bullock hogging the screens
and sticking IVs full of saccharine into our
bloodstreams, it’s refreshing to see a movie like The
Notebook in release. There are only a few quiet
scenes, which feature subtle humor, in it. But, for the
most part, it’s a true romance, taking audiences on a
journey, showcasing only the sheer beauty of love. Even
if it may be kind of sappy, it will be hard for even the
toughest of guys to deny that it’s a good film.
At times, The Notebook’s
white blood cells have to work tough to battle the
prevalent melodrama in the script, but for the most
part, their count remains high. During the second act,
the movie’s immune system reaches its weakest point.
However, by the last leg of the journey, I was absorbed
in the story as much as I had been during the terrific
opening sequences. As shaky and predictable as it may
be, director Nick Cassavetes allows The Notebook
to flow, and quietly enrapture us, on its own, pure
terms.
The premise is identical to
most ditzy schlock, but the film is executed with magic
abundant in its contents. Dedicated to making his
Alzheimer-patient wife, Allie (Gena Rowlands), remember
him, Noah Calhoun (James Garner) reads her a notebook
about their lives that she wrote before she was
diagnosed, everyday. An unlikely pairing, Noah had to
force Allie to go on a date with him, originally. She
came from a wealthy family, while he worked at a
lumberyard. And, despite Allie’s family’s wishes, their
romance lasted for an entire summer, when she visited
his town. The two broke it off before she left for
college, though, and she eventually became engaged to
another man, named Lon (James Marsden). But, before
their wedding, Allie had to clear her head and see Noah
again, and the two, not surprisingly, hit it off, once
again.
For Rachel McAdams, who plays
a young Allie, opposite Ryan Gosling as the teenage
Noah, this movie is a breakthrough. Terrible in her two
other credited performances, which were in the dreadful
Mean Girls and the even worse Hot Chick,
it is a downright surprise she is so wonderful here. In
most love stories, the female lead is played in a
downright brain-dead manner. But, here, McAdams
shows off a more human kind of lovey-doviness. She
maintains the cute (and sometimes even sexy) presence of
other actresses, without sacrificing her characters
intelligence to accomplish such. Take Drew Barrymore’s
work in 50 First Dates, for example. By that
picture’s end, wasn’t she more of a device, following
the plot, than a real, living human being? In The
Notebook, McAdams allows us to feel real emotion in
a somewhat formulaic story. Even though it’s highly
doubtful such will happen, I would be overjoyed to see
her up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Much of The Notebook’s
success also lies in the movements of the camera. In
movies of this nature, the machine capturing the images
seen onscreen should play the role of an additional
character. Robert Fraisse’s cinematography makes for
just this, elegantly moving around the actors in scenes
of passion, and keeping still in those of more delicacy.
Not to mention, his work exhibits the cleverest methods
of creating PG-13 rated sex scenes since Austin
Powers. Fraisse has a collected way of establishing
intimacy behind the camera, and this is really a delight
to watch.
I’m not sure why I questioned
whether or not The Notebook would be a worthwhile
experience, before seeing it. For such a popular book,
it would be a crime to not do the source material
justice (the fact that it’s a Nicholas Sparks novel
would make it even worse). It has happened before,
though; in the vast wasteland that is Hollywood,
anything goes. Luckily, The Notebook has been
handled with care, and was well thought-out in almost
every aspect of its delivery. And considering it
could’ve been strictly sappy drivel, this is a rather
large accomplishment on the part of the tremendous
Cassavetes.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews (6.26.2004)