The Notebook

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2:13

The Notebook

PG-13

Released Jun 25, 2004

2h 4m

Romance

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

182 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In 1940s South Carolina, mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and rich girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) are desperately in love. But her parents don't approve. When Noah goes off to serve in World War II, it seems to mark the end of their love affair. In the interim, Allie becomes involved with another man (James Marsden). But when Noah returns to their small town years later, on the cusp of Allie's marriage, it soon becomes clear that their romance is anything but over.

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Critics Consensus

It's hard not to admire its unabashed sentimentality, but The Notebook is too clumsily manipulative to rise above its melodramatic clichés.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

In a romance where paradise is a duck-filled pond, it helps to be mild-mannered.

Feb 2, 2019

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Dentistry in the Renaissance could not have been more painful than watching this.

Rated: 1/5

Feb 2, 2019

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Leslie Felperin

Times (UK)

A honey-dipped love story with a surprisingly tart aftertaste, The Notebook is a better-than-you'd-expect adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's bestselling novel of the same name.

Feb 2, 2019

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Patricia Karounos

Refinery29

The Notebook is one of those movies that is so sad, you could break out into tears just thinking about it.

Oct 23, 2023

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Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

A tearjerker? It'll make you cry but it's not manipulative. A chick flick? It's just an inspiring love story that will touch your heart and make you believe true love can last a lifetime and conquer all. Isn't that what we all want?

Rated: 4/5

Apr 21, 2023

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Patrick McDonald

HollywoodChicago.com

There is always cinema room for the unabashed tearjerker, & THE N delivers on that "note." Any film that has Gena Rowlands in it will at least shine when she is on the screen & this was no exception. David Thornton with a handlebar mustache ... exquisite!

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 25, 2023

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Shayla

Your review will help others decide whether to watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/25/21

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Audience Member

i loved the beginning they (the main characters) were cute and then they split up for a stupid reason and she cheats on her husband. omg stop normalizing cheating. My eyes were closed for like half of the movie. its so overhyped got me exited for nothing

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/20/24

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Audience Member

The Notebook is a strange tale with manipulative undertones and questionable motives at every turn. I found it very difficult to sympathize with the ethically dubious main characters and the story didn't quite make up for it as every plot turn I saw coming from miles away. The character portrayals cannot be described as anything better than adequate, disappointing for me considering Ryan Gosling's more recent projects which I've found far superior. It makes up for these blunders by being quite visually beautiful with some gorgeous shots and a great directoral job by Nick Cassavetes. However, many of these details come at the expense of the timeline immersion; I frequently forgot the story was set in the '40s thanks to the language usage and interactions. Not the romantic classic the people claim it is.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/14/24

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jake r

Amazing, rewatched this movie a couple of times and would say that its in my top 15. would be in my top 5 or 10 when i first watched it but after a couple of times i don't feel for the movie anymore.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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Rachael Z

My favorite love story 🩷

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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Danny W

Made me absolutely sob. A masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/23/24

Full Review

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Nick Cassavetes

Director

Ryan Gosling

Noah Calhoun

Rachel McAdams

Allie Hamilton

James Garner

Duke

Gena Rowlands

Allie Calhoun

James Marsden

Lon

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Synopsis

In 1940s South Carolina, mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and rich girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) are desperately in love. But her parents don't approve. When Noah goes off to serve in World War II, it seems to mark the end of their love affair. In the interim, Allie becomes involved with another man (James Marsden). But when Noah returns to their small town years later, on the cusp of Allie's marriage, it soon becomes clear that their romance is anything but over.

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Producer: Mark Johnson, Lynn Harris
Screenwriter: Nick Cassavetes, Jeremy Leven, Nicholas Sparks, Jan Sardi
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Avery Pix
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 25, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $81.0M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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