The Notebook

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Shayla Your review will help others decide whether to watch. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/25/21 Full Review Rowan C The Notebook is the best love story I have ever seen and I can positively say that I have never cried harder at an ending before this movie. The movie starts with an old woman who is being taken care of and an old man comes to her everyday, just to read to her. The story he was reading starts with Noah Calhoun who is played by Ryan Gosling and Fin who is played by Kevin Connolly. They are at a carnival together when Noah sees this very pretty girl Allie Hamilton who is played by Rachel McAdams. Noah immediately asks her out but she rejects him, and he takes things to the next level. Allie goes on the carnival ride with a random guy and Noah jumps on the Carnival mid ride, hanging on a bar. He then hangs onto the bar with one arm and wouldn't use his other arm to give him more stability until she agreed to go on a date with him. Noah runs into Allie again and she still rejects but he is trying so hard just to hang out with her. One night, Fin and his girlfriend Sara Tuffington who is played by Heather Wahlquist go out to the movies. Sara decides to bring Allie with her and Fin brings Noah with him, which gets them even closer. When they were all going home, Noah and Allie bonded so well in the middle of the street. They were laying down watching the traffic lights turn colors and dancing with no music. After this, they fell in love so quickly and spent every waking moment together for most of the Summer. Allie got to meet Noah's dad Frank Calhoun who is played by Sam Shepard and he was so supportive of the two. Noah finally gets to meet Allie's extremely wealthy parents Anne Hamilton who is played by Joan Allen and John Hamilton who is played by David Thornton. They disapproved of him because he was poor and made 40 cents an hour working for a log company. One night, Noah took Allie to this abandoned house and told her that he was going to fix it up someday. Allie told him that she wanted a white house with blue shutters and a porch wrapping around the whole house. Allie made Noah promise that he was going to build it and he made the promise with no hesitation. They stayed out too late when they were about to have their first time, and they realized it was 2AM. Allie's parents told her that she couldn't see Noah again and they were calling him trash, so he started leaving. Noah wanted to think things over but Alllie broke up with him first in a fit of rage, while asking him if they were really doing this while he was driving away. The morning after, Allie's mom told her that they were moving and Allie tried to catch Noah before to tell her she loved him. She could not catch Noah because he was on an assignment, but Allie told Fin to tell Noah that she loved him. Noah got back and started driving towards her house, but he got there and they were already gone. Noah wrote a letter a day to Allie for 365 days, but Allie's mom hid those letters from her. During this time of departure, Allie found a new man Lon Hammond who is played by James Marsden and Noah joined the army with Fin. Allie got engaged to this new man and Noah had to through the pain of losing Fin in a bomb explosion. Noah comes back to his Dad, and his Dad tells him that he sold the house for Noah to be able to fix up that old house he always wanted to fix up. During this time, Noah's dad Frank ends up passing away and this drives Noah to complete the house. Noah ends up completing the house, just like Allie described and she ends up seeing this in the local paper while trying on wedding dresses. She comes back only to hook up with Noah and fall in love with him all over again. They spent multiple days together and she finally asks Noah why he never wrote to her, while they were away from each other for 7 years. She finds out the truth and falls even more in love with him after knowing that he wrote to her for 365 days. Allie goes back and now has to make a decision whether to marry Lon or stay with Noah. She drove off from Noah's house crying, but then she opened up one of his very famous letters. She goes back to the hotel to break things off with Lon and return to her new home where the love of her life was living. The movie switches back to the future where Noah is now done reading the story to Allie and her memory comes back just for a short time. She was so happy to see him and she wrote to Noah in the past to read her that story if he ever wanted her to remember. Allie had degenerative dementia and soon forgot Noah again, in which she started freaking out because she thought she was hugging a stranger. He decided to visit Allie one night, and she actually remembered him. He told her that their love could do anything and all she wanted was for them to go to heaven together. They both went to sleep holding hands and in the morning, the nurse found that both of them passed away together. This is where the movie ends and it was heartbreaking. Overall, this was an amazing love story and the ending is one of the saddest endings I have ever seen. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/06/25 Full Review Kyle C I went into The Notebook expecting a sappy cliché-fest, and honestly, the opening didn’t help. Bad CGI birds, an over-the-top Ferris wheel stunt, and Ryan Gosling harassing Rachel McAdams until she inexplicably falls for him made it feel like every tired romance trope rolled into one. But then something happened: the movie grew on me. Yes, the story is predictable, and Gosling’s character teeters close to being more creepy than romantic. Still, the chemistry between Gosling and McAdams eventually clicks. Their rekindling later in the film isn’t framed as purely triumphant; it’s uncomfortable and complicated, which makes it feel more human. James Marsden also deserves credit for playing one of the rare “other guy” roles in a love triangle who isn’t a villain. He’s mature, sympathetic, and frankly more stable than Gosling’s obsessive Noah. The family dynamics are another strong point. Awkward dinners and quiet father-son moments feel real. Allie’s mom also gets more complexity than expected, showing how her own mistakes shape her controlling nature. The period setting helps tie these relationships together, giving them a texture that keeps them from feeling forced. Even small beats, like Allie’s different cadence around rich folks, or the juxtaposition of a daughter draped in a blanket arguing with her prim mother, add depth. Not everything lands. Finn’s sudden departure feels rushed, the fainting scene is melodramatic, and I still wish the film gave more presence to Black characters beyond background roles. But the pacing works surprisingly well, and the movie manages to balance cliché with sincerity. By the end, when the framing device comes into focus, the story feels less like a simple romance and more like a meditation on memory, aging, and what happens after “happily ever after.” The final act is heavy-handed, but also powerful. Noah’s devotion, even for fleeting moments of connection, hits hard. I didn’t expect to say this, but The Notebook is better than its reputation suggests. It’s flawed, it’s cheesy, and it’s also moving in ways I didn’t anticipate. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/26/25 Full Review Sarah B This movie emotionally wrecked me Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/15/25 Full Review Marce S Emotionally it made its job as a romance with good acting. The story however was to predictable and cliche. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/13/25 Full Review Leila L Far too saccharine a tale. Great acting but cliched doesn’t even begin to describe how clawing this film is. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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