SYNOPSIS THE NOTEBOOK

-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.

-In a modern-day nursing home, an elderly man named Duke (James Garner) begins to read
a love story from his notebook to a female fellow patient (Gena Rowlands).

The story begins in 1940. At a carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, local country boy
Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) sees seventeen-year-old heiress Allie Hamilton (Rachel
McAdams) for the first time and is immediately smitten. She continuously refuses his
persistent advances until their well-meaning friends lure them together; they then get to
know each other on a midnight walk through empty Seabrook.

Noah and Allie spend an idyllic summer together. One night, a week before Allie is to leave
town, she and Noah go up to an abandoned house called The Windsor Plantation. Noah tells
her that he hopes to buy the house, and Allie makes him promise that the house will be
white, with blue shutters, a walk-around porch, and a room that overlooks the creek so she
can paint. They intend to make love for the first time, but are interrupted by Noah's friend Fin
(Kevin Connolly) with the news that Allie's parents have the police out looking for her. When
Allie returns home, her disapproving parents ban her from seeing Noah again. Allie fights
with Noah outside and the two decide to break up. Allie immediately regrets the decision but
Noah drives away. The next morning, Allie's mother reveals that they are going home that
morning. Allie frantically tries to find Noah, but is forced to leave without saying good-bye.
The Hamiltons then send Allie to New York, where she begins attending Sarah Lawrence
College. Noah, devastated by his separation from Allie, writes her one letter a day for a year,
only to get no reply as Allie's mother keeps the letters from her. Noah and Allie have no
choice but to move on with their lives. Allie continues to attend school, while Noah and Fin
enlist to fight in World War II. Fin is killed in battle.

Allie becomes a nurse for wounded soldiers. There, she meets the wealthy Lon Hammond,
Jr. (James Marsden), a well-connected young lawyer who is handsome, sophisticated,
charming and comes from old Southern money. The two eventually become engaged, to the
joy of Allie's parents, although Allie sees Noah's face when Lon asks her to marry him.

When Noah returns home, he discovers his father has sold their home so that Noah can go
ahead and buy The Windsor Plantation. While visiting Charleston to file some paper work,
Noah witnesses Allie and Lon kissing at a restaurant, causing Noah to go a little crazy,
convincing himself that if he fixes up the house, Allie will come back to him.

While trying on her wedding dress in the 1940s, Allie is startled to read about Noah
completing the house in the style section of a Raleigh newspaper and faints. She visits Noah
in Seabrook and he invites her to dinner, during which Allie tells Noah about her
engagement. Noah questions whether Allie's future husband is a good man and she
reassures Noah that he is. Later in the evening, Noah invites Allie to come back tomorrow.

In the present, it is made clear that the elderly woman is Allie suffering from dementia, which
has stolen her memories and Duke is her husband. Allie does not recognize their grown
children and grandchildren, who beg Duke to come home with them. He insists on staying
with Allie.

The next morning, Allie and Noah go rowing on a nearby lake and begin to reminisce about
their summer together. As a rain storm starts Noah rows to shore, where Allie demands to
know why Noah never wrote to her. After the revelation that Noah had indeed written to Allie,
they share a passionate kiss, before making love into the night.

The next day, Allies mother appears on Noahs doorstep, telling Allie that Lon has followed
her to Seabrook after Allie's father told him about Noah. Her mother takes Allie out for a
drive to show her that there had been a time in her life when she could relate to Allie's
present situation. On returning to Noah's, she hands her daughter the bundle of 365 letters
that Noah had written to her. When alone, Noah asks Allie what she is going to do; Allie is
confused and confesses that she doesnt know. Noah asks her to just stay with him,
admitting it is going to be really hard, but he is willing to go through anything because he
wants to be with her. Confused as ever, Allie drives off.

Allie drives to the hotel and confesses to Lon, who is angry but admits that he still loves her.
He tells her that he does not want to convince his fiancée that she should be with him, but
Allie tells him he does not have to, because she already knows she should be with him.

The film goes back to the elderly couple, and Duke asks Allie who she chose. She soon
realizes the answer herself; young Allie appears at Noah's doorstep, having left Lon at the
hotel and chosen Noah. They embrace in reunion.

Elderly Allie suddenly remembers her past before she and Noah/Duke joyfully spend a brief
intimate moment together; after originally finding out about her illness, she had herself
written their story in the notebook with the instructions for Noah to "Read this to me, and I'll
come back to you." But soon Allie relapses, losing her memories of Noah yet again. She
panics, and has to be sedated by the attending physician. This proves to be too difficult for
Noah to watch and he breaks down. The next morning, Noah is found unconscious in bed
and he is rushed to the hospital; he later returns to the nursing home's intensive care ward.
He goes to Allie's room later that night, and Allie remembers again. The next morning, a
nurse finds them in bed together, having both died peacefully holding each other's hands.
The last scene shows a flock of birds flying away.

MESSAGES OF THE MOVIE

-The Notebook is a movie directed by Nick Cassavetes that is based off of a novel written by
Nicholas Sparks. This movie chronicles the 1940 fictional love story of South Carolina mill
worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling), and wealthy city girl Allie Hamilton (Rachel
McAdams); as told by elderly Noah Calhoun who is reading details about their love story
from Allie’s diary (notebook). I do not want to bore any of you readers with an in depth
summary of this movie, but I do have to say that this movie is so much more than a simple
love story. It shows the love of a guarded mother, that for a while gets misperceived as
genuine malice and selfishness, but is later understood as love and protection. It shows the
effects that money has on all types of relationships, how Alzheimer’s Disease affects loved
ones, and how the “good guy” (in this case, Allie’s fiancé Lon), does not always get what he
wants, but can handle that with grace and a willingness to move on and move forward.
There are hundreds of lessons entwined in just this one movie, it all just depends on how the
viewer decides to look at it.

As I was talking with a friend who is not a fan of this movie or the romantic movie genre as a
whole, I came to realize that we both looked at this movie so differently. I saw a love story
filled with lessons about the realities of life and the true value of love in the midst of
struggles; and my friend saw a dramatic love story with no purpose other than to entertain. I
would not say that either perspective is wrong, we just saw different things while watching
the same movie.

Movies are such a unique form of art in the sense that they have the opportunity to share
multiple hidden messages throughout the plot line. Movies have the ability to tell many
stories within the one plot line, and as a result many meaningful lessons can be learned if we
choose to open our eyes to all that the writers and actors are telling us. So instead of getting
so caught up in the genre and surface level first impressions of certain types of movies,
there is so much more value that can be added to movies when we stop looking at them as a
simple form of entertainment; and start seeing them for the intricate and complex pieces of
art that they are.
-lessons the notebook taught us abt love

1. Don't be too shy to tell someone how you really feel.

2. Compromising is important, but don't change who you are entirely just to please another
person.

3. You'll get into arguments and disagree from time to time because no one's perfect.

4. But having a good sense of humor can help you get through the tough times.

5. Unconditional love means caring about someone's happiness and well-being regardless
of personal gain.

6. It's important to communicate your feelings.

SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS

-POSITIVE

1. I read the book and then saw this movie, and I was impressed. I thought the acting was
terrific, the scenery was beautiful and the story was heart warming. Although I did close my
eyes during both love scenes and don’t recommend the movie to anyone under the age of
13, I think that the overall heart of the movie was inspiring; any movie where people find their
true love, fight for them with such passion and stay faithful forever is a story that tells of
God’s heart with us. I loved it!

2. What holds this movie up is the relationship between the older couple, played beautifully
by Garner and Rowlands. It is tender and loving, without the usual sappy romantic movie
pablum. The story of the younger couple was also charming, even though it had a familiar
Romeo and Juliet plot

3. Perhaps more than any other recent film, “The Notebook” conveys what it means to fully
love an other, to love someone through sickness and health. The film tells the story of a
young couple who met as teenagers, fell in love but then were unable to marry due to
parental pressure. I don’t want to give the plot away, but since this is a romance you can
assume that they eventually find their way back to each other, and before the movie is over it
is clear what the difference is between real love and that which is superficial. (Viewers
should be cautioned that extramarital sex does occur in this film, and the sex is integral
enough to the plot that it could detract from the otherwise positive message of this film.)

SUGGESTIONS

-Less sex pls