The Notebook is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, and based on the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. Their story is read from a notebook in the modern day by an elderly man telling the tale to a fellow nursing home resident.
The Notebook had its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 20, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 25, 2004 by New Line Cinema. Despite generally mixed reviews from critics, Gosling and McAdams were singled out for praise for their performances. The film was a sleeper hit at the box office, grossing $118.3 million against its $29 million budget, and has become a cult classic in the years since its release. On November 11, 2012, an extended version premiered on ABC Family with deleted scenes added back into the original storyline.
The film earned several accolades, including the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for Gosling and McAdams at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. At the 11th Screen Actors Guild Awards, James Garner was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and the director's mother, Gena Rowlands, won Best Supporting Actress – Drama at the 9th Golden Satellite Awards.
Plot
In the present day, an elderly man named Duke reads a romantic story from a notebook to a female patient in their nursing home.
The story opens in 1940 at a carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina. Lumber mill worker Noah Calhoun sees 17-year-old heiress Allison "Allie" Hamilton and immediately falls in love with her. He pursues her, woos her into dating him, and they begin a romance. Noah and Allie fall head-over-heels in love despite their differences.
Near the end of the summer, Noah learns that Allie will attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York in the fall. He takes her to Windsor Plantation, telling her about his dream to repair its abandoned house. They try to have sex, but things are a bit awkward since they both are not sure what to do and a nervous Allie can't stop talking. They are interrupted by their friend Fin who tells them that Allie's parents have summoned the police to find her.
When Allie and Noah return to her parents' mansion, Allie's mother, Anne, who thinks working-class Noah is not good enough for Allie, forbids her from seeing him. Noah overhears the conversation and admits to Allie he does not see a future for them. A distraught Allie breaks up with him, but immediately regrets the decision.
The next morning, Anne announces they will be returning to Charleston immediately. Allie rushes to the lumber mill to apologize to Noah, but he is away; she asks Fin to tell him she loves him. Noah rushes to Allie's home when the message is delivered, but she has already left.
Noah writes to Allie every day for a year, but Allie's mother intercepts the letters. When the US joins World War II, Noah and Fin enlist and fight in the Battle of the Bulge, where Fin is killed. Meanwhile, Allie nurses soldiers in a hospital, meeting wounded Captain Lon Hammond Jr., a young lawyer who comes from old Southern money. After a few years, they become engaged, to Allie's parents' delight.
Noah returns from the war, to find his father has sold their home so Noah can buy the Windsor Plantation. Soon after, his father dies, and Noah begins repairing the house. Noah cannot bring himself to sell the house since it connects him to Allie. Out of loneliness, Noah has a casual relationship with a war widow named Martha Shaw.
As Allie tries on her wedding dress, she sees a newspaper photo of Noah in front of his renovated house and faints. Allie's feelings for Noah resurface, so she decides to travel to Seabrook. There, she comes face to face with Noah for the first time in seven years. They have a pleasant afternoon catching up and Noah invites Allie to come over again the next day. After a romantic boat ride, Allie emotionally confronts Noah about why he did not write to her all those years ago. Noah tells her he did write to her and they kiss. They go back to the house and have sex.
Allie and Noah spend the next couple of days in romantic bliss. Anne arrives to warn Allie that Lon has come to Seabrook. She reveals that she once also loved a lower-class man and wonders what their lives would have been like had she chosen differently. Anne gives Noah's letters to Allie and suggests she choose wisely.
Allie admits to Noah she does not know what to do and this leads to an explosive argument between the pair. Noah tells Allie she has to choose who she truly wants to be with. Allie drives back to her hotel and confesses her infidelity to Lon. Lon forgives her and still wants to marry her. Ultimately, Allie follows her heart and returns to Noah.
Back in the present, the elderly woman is revealed to be Allie, now suffering from dementia. Duke is actually Noah, who uses a pseudonym to not startle her in her disoriented state. The story he reads to her is in her notebook, detailing their romance and life together so he could help her remember him. Noah has kept his promise to read it to her daily.
When Noah finishes the story, Allie remembers it is their story. Allie and Noah emotionally embrace and Noah tells Allie they only have a few minutes before she will forget again. They dance to their song, "I'll Be Seeing You", and she asks about their children. Sadly, Allie's dementia quickly returns and she panics, seeing him as a stranger and she is sedated. Later, Noah has a heart attack, while Allie is taken to a dementia ward. After his recovery, Noah sneaks into Allie's room in the night. Allie recognizes him and they kiss. The next morning, their bodies are found after they have both died in their sleep, holding hands.
Cast Ryan Gosling as Noah Calhoun (young) James Garner as Duke / Noah (old) Rachel McAdams as Allison "Allie" Calhoun (née Hamilton) (young) Gena Rowlands as Allie (old) Sam Shepard as Frank Calhoun, Noah's father Joan Allen as Anne Hamilton, Allie's mother James Marsden as Lon Hammond Jr. Kevin Connolly as Fin David Thornton as John Hamilton, Allie's father Jamie Brown as Martha Shaw Heather Wahlquist as Sara Tuffington Ed Grady as Harry Obba Babatunde as Bandleader Starletta DuPois as Nurse Esther Paul Johansson as Anne Hamilton's ex-boyfriend (uncredited)
Production The film rights to Nicholas Sparks' novel were acquired by New Line Cinema in 1996, represented by producer Mark Johnson. Jeremy Leven was hired to write the script, which caught the attention of director Steven Spielberg in 1998, who wished to film it with Tom Cruise as Noah Calhoun. Spielberg's commitment to other projects led to Jim Sheridan becoming attached to direct the following year. M. Night Shyamalan was also approached to direct but couldn't do it due to commitments to The Sixth Sense. Filming was to start in 1999 but pushed back over rewrites. Sheridan eventually backed out by October 2000 to work on In America. Martin Campbell entered negotiations to direct in March 2001, before he was replaced by Nick Cassavetes a year later. Early in development George Clooney was going to play Noah, and Paul Newman the older Noah, but after Clooney watched some Paul Newman movies he went up to Newman and said he did not look like him.
Casting Cassavetes wanted someone unknown and "not handsome" to portray Noah; he chose Ryan Gosling for the role. Hayden Christensen was originally considered for the role. Gosling was initially surprised by this: "I read [the script] and I thought, 'He's crazy. I couldn't be more wrong for this movie.'" "It gave me an opportunity to play a character over a period of time – from 1940 to 1946 – that was quite profound and formative." To prepare for the part, Gosling temporarily moved to Charleston, South Carolina, prior to filming. During two months, he rowed the Ashley River and made furniture. When James Garner was approached for the role of the older Noah, he asked his agent if the script was for a television film, until he read it again and realized it had a universal appeal. A nationwide search was conducted to find the right actress to play Allie. Actresses who auditioned or considered for the role included Jessica Biel, Britney Spears, Jaime King, Jane McGregor, Kate Beckinsale, Kate Bosworth, Amy Adams, Mandy Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Claire Danes, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ashley Judd, and Reese Witherspoon, with the choice narrowed down to Britney Spears and Rachel McAdams with McAdams winning the role. On casting her, Cassavetes said: "When Rachel McAdams came in and read, it was apparent that she was the one. She and Ryan had great chemistry between them." She commented: "I thought it would be a dream to be able to do it. I read the script and went into the audition just two days later. It was a good way to do it because I was very full of the story." Gosling commented that, "I think that it's pretty fair to say that we probably wouldn't have made the film if we hadn't found Rachel... Really, Allie drives the movie. It's her movie and we're in it. It all kind of depended on an actress." In comparison to the book, the role was extended. McAdams spent time in Charleston before filming to familiarize herself with the surroundings, and took ballet and etiquette classes. She had a dialect coach to learn the Southern accent. Bradley Cooper was considered for Lon Hammond, while the studio pushed for Cole Hauser; but James Marsden was eventually cast.
Filming The Notebook was filmed mostly on location in South Carolina, as well as the wintery battlefield just outside Montreal. Production offices for the film were set up at the old Charleston Naval Shipyard in North Charleston.
Much of the film's plot takes place in and around Seabrook Island, an actual town which is one of the South Carolina "sea island" localities, located southwest of Charleston. None of the filming took place in the Seabrook area, however, and instead utilized the surrounding areas. Specifically, the house that Noah is seen fixing up is a private residence at Wadmalaw Island, another locality situated closer to Charleston. The house was not actually in a dilapidated state at the time and instead was made to look that way by special effects. Contrary to the suggestion in the film's dialogue, neither the house nor the Seabrook area was home to South Carolina Revolutionary hero Francis Marion, whose plantation was actually located northwest of Charleston. The Boone Hall Plantation served as Allie's summer house.
Many of the scenes set in Seabrook were filmed in the town of Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston. Other locations included Edisto Island, Cypress Gardens (in Moncks Corner, South Carolina) with trained birds that were brought in from elsewhere.
The nursing home scenes were filmed at Rice Hope Plantation, located in Georgetown County. The college depicted briefly in the film is identified in the film as Sarah Lawrence College, but the campus that is seen is the College of Charleston.
Music The soundtrack to The Notebook was released on June 8, 2004.
Reception
Box office The film was released on June 25, 2004, in the United States and Canada and grossed $13.5 million from 2,303 theaters in its opening weekend, ranking number 4 at the box office. The film grossed a total of $115.6 million worldwide, $81 million in Canada and the United States and $34.6 million in other countries. It is the 15th highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time.
Critical response