Finally, A Romance That Isn't Painful To Watch

The Notebook - Nick Cassavetes

 8/10

The writers are the real heroes here. They are the ones responsible for everything that I love about this film. The film is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks (A Walk To Remember & Safe Haven). I haven’t read anything by him so I have no idea if the adaption is any good.

Jan Sardi (Shine & Mao’s Last Dancer) is credited with the adaptation and Jeremy Leven (The Legend of Bagger Vance & My Sister’s Keeper) is credited with the screenplay. I find it very odd that these two roles could be separated. My guess is that in actuality they worked very closely together.

Emotion Captured

Everyone involved was able to do something that you don’t see very often on film. They capture what feels like real emotion. Everyone involved was responsible for this. But it is really to Jan & Jeremy that the credit really goes.

Think back to other romances that you have seen. This genre is generally dominated by the Rom Com. In those films there is some obsession with awkwardness. Some sick pleasure in seeing the leads squirm.

There is a real move away from the awkwardness here. Even during the scenes where Noah is on the bus and catches sight of Ally but she doesn’t see him there is no awkwardness. You just really want her to look up. While this sequence isn’t anything new what is refreshing is that it isn’t painful to watch.

You want Ally to see Noah. You are invested in their story.

Universality of the Story

When it flashes forward to them being old again it is heart breaking. Even when you don’t realise that it is Noah and Ally there is just a sadness between them that comes through.

The concept of memory loss in old age is handled with nuance. Because of the subtlety it is even more terrifying. It is something that we can all relate to. It is easy to picture someone we know or even ourselves losing our memories.

This is such a powerful topic because of the universality. It is also so good because it is essentially the only way that someone can lose themselves. Memory is who we are. Without it we are not ourselves.

What makes the script so good?

It’s ability to capture emotion is its key power and it does this so well at the critical points. At the catalyst when they fall in love it feels real. This is so important because if it hadn’t felt 100% real the rest of the story could not have stood up.

We wouldn’t have been as invested as we were. All the highs and lows would have felt a bit awkward and out of place. Noah’s reaction to her leaving would have felt over dramatic. We wouldn’t have been so angry at Ally’s mother for hiding the letters.

Jan & Jeremy also used flashback and flashforward really well. If done incorrectly this can feel clunky or forced. It brings power to the story. I think that the best one for me is as soon as we realise that old Ally has Alzheimer’s it flashes back.

Beautiful Cinematography

The film just looks really good. It’s a pleasure to watch. One of the best scenes is the opening scene of the man rowing with the birds all around him.

The key for great cinematography for me is that if you feel like it’s there then they are doing a bad job. Robert Fraisse (Enemy At The Gates & L’amant) captures the period well.

The vistas of the old town are great. I loved the visuals in at the fair and everything to do with the restoration of the house was a pleasure to watch.