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The Notebook

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The Notebook (2004)

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Reviews Counted:146

Fresh:76

Rotten:70

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Despite some touching performances, The Notebook is still a syrupy tearjerker.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some sexuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:25-06-2004

Synopsis: A young woman comes to the coastal town of Seabrook, North Carolina in the 1940's to spend the summer with her family. Still in her teens, Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) meets local boy Noah... A young woman comes to the coastal town of Seabrook, North Carolina in the 1940's to spend the summer with her family. Still in her teens, Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) meets local boy Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) at a Carnival. On the spot, Noah senses that he and Allie are meant to be together. Though she is a wealthy debutante and he a mill worker, over the course of one passionate and carefree summer in the South, the two fall deeply in love. Circumstances - and the sudden outbreak of World War II - drive them apart, but both continue to be haunted by memories of each other. When Noah returns home from the war years later, Allie is irrevocably gone from his life, but not from his heart. Though Noah doesn't yet know it, Allie has come back to Seabrook, where they first fell in love. But now Allie is engaged to marry Lon (James Marsden), a wealthy soldier she met while volunteering in a GI hospital. Decades later, a man (James Garner) reads from a faded notebook to a woman (Gena Rowlands) he regularly visits at her nursing home. Though her memory has faded, she becomes caught up in the fiery story of Allie and Noah - and for a few moments, she is able to relive the passionate, turbulent time when they swore they'd be together always. New Line Cinema presents The Notebook, a story of lost chances, growing up and the power of enduring love. A Gran Via Production, the film is directed by Nick Cassavetes from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven, adaptation by Jan Sardi, based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks. Academy Award winner Mark Johnson (Rain Man) and Lynn Harris are the producers. The executive producers are Toby Emmerich and Avram Butch Kaplan. The film stars Ryan Gosling (The Believer), Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls), Academy Award nominees James Garner (Murphy's Romance, TV's "Eight Simple Rules") and Gena Rowlands (Gloria, A Woman Under the Influence), James Marsden (X-Men series) and Kevin Connolly (John Q.), with Academy Award nominees Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff, Black Hawk Down) and Joan Allen (The Contender, Nixon). The creative behind-the-scenes team is led by director of photography Robert Fraisse AFC (Enemy at the Gates, Vatel), editor Alan Heim A.C.E. (American History X, All That Jazz), production designer Sarah Knowles and costume designer Karyn Wagner (The Lone Ranger, The Salton Sea, The Majestic). Aaron Zigman (John Q., Fighting For Care) composed the score. Casting is by Matthew Barry, C.S.A. and Nancy Green-Keyes, C.S.A. New Line Cinema will release The Notebook (rated PG-13 by the M.P.A.A. for "some sexuality") nationwide on June 25th, 2004. [More]

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Sam Shepard, Joan Allen, James Marsden

Director: Nick Cassavetes

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Screenwriter: Jeremy Leven, Jan Sardi
Producer: Mark Johnson, Lynn Harris
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for The Notebook

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Old-fashioned matinee pictures don't come much more sickly.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/22/04
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An uncomplicated, nicely shot tale that ticks all the right boxes for those after a good old-fashioned weepy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/03/04
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While the sentimentality is pretty oppressive, Cassavetes leaves enough space for the cast members to shine.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/05/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/03/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

for someone who loves these sorts of stories, it would be a fantastic movie

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
03/05/09
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Even though we’ve seen these types of characters before, this group of actors makes them feel interesting and unique.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/26/04
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Despite the pleasant surprise that it isn’t completely rancid, The Notebook proves ultimately and unfortunately completely forgettable.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
06/21/04
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

The movie's main problem is that it exerts so much effort coddling the pushovers, and does so little to make itself accessible to those with harder hearts.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/25/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

You can't write off The Notebook as just another tearjerker because the characters are brought to life in such elegant fashion.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/24/04
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

*There's nothing about The Notebook that isn't either lazy or dismissive of its audience.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment 1 Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Succeeds well enough on its own terms.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/24/04
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/03/04
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

Well-done, well-acted schmaltz, a beautifully shot melodrama that overcomes its contrivances by striking just the right romantic tone.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
07/06/04
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The Notebook is one of the most romantic movies of our generation! Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are positively electric...READ ON->

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
06/23/04
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Considering the sunny, relatively pleasurable romantic business that precedes it, the elderly stuff seems dark, morbid, and forced upon us.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
06/25/04
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/03/04
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you’re looking for an adventure in summer camp, pencil in The Notebook.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
07/09/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

There's a generic feel to the saga and, especially, the character of Allie.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/06/04
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Boxoffice Magazine

Sap. Sucker. Crybaby. Pantywaist. Go ahead and call me whatever name you want. I’m still recommending the weepy and unabashedly square romantic drama “The Notebook.”

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
06/25/04
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Notebook

January 23, 2008: Ryan Gosling Starring in Jack Ryan Franchise Reboot?
Romantics swooned over him in The Notebook, and critics loved his turn as the doll-toting lead character in last year's Lars and the Real Girl -- and if the latest rumors are... More...

January 02, 2008: First Shots of Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler's Wife
The first stills from Robert Schwentke's adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife have surfaced online! More...

October 25, 2007: Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning Teaming Up for My Sister's Keeper
They aren't even in high school yet, but the Fanning sisters are already grizzled Hollywood veterans -- and now they're teaming up onscreen for the first time. More...

June 28, 2007: Ryan Gosling Signs On to Peter Jackson's "Lovely Bones"
The 27-year-old actor will be playing the husband to 36-year-old Rachel Weisz. They'll be playing the parents of a (dead) 14-year-old girl in the Peter Jackson pic. More...

See All

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