The Notebook Review
The only way The Notebook resembles anything on Nick_Cassavetes' resumé is that it features his mother, Gena_Rowlands. But this departure is a good thing. Too fixated early in his career on (poorly) imitating the gritty mannerisms of his father, iconoclast filmmaker John_Cassavetes, the younger Cassavetes gives himself over here to a lyrical romance that takes place mostly in the 1940s. The clean production design of a period piece suits him well, and while it may not be grubby-fingernails real, The Notebook carries with it an undeniable believability. Nicholas_Sparks' novel contains plenty of pat scenarios, but they possess a wonderful third dimension in the hands of the film's two exciting central performers: Rachel McAdams and Ryan_Gosling. Both are effortlessly charming and likeable, giving fine personage to the young lovers who struggle against society's expectations of them. McAdams in particular is a revelation, proving as effective a flawed protagonist as she was an icy backstabber in Mean_Girls -- though this is much subtler work. Adults who see The Notebook as a teen romance, despite its wartime setting, should be heartened by the Oscar nominees who fill out the cast, as Joan_Allen and James_Garner join Rowlands to add credibility. Although the framing story involving Garner and Rowlands sometimes seems like a distraction, it has a fulfilling enough resolution to work in concert with the main narrative. The constant between both time periods is Cassavetes' camera, which has the liberated feel of a child breaking free from his father's influence. John_Cassavetes may not have shot many rowboats on swan-filled lakes, but his son seems to have matured to the realization that this, too, is a legitimate form of honest storytelling. Derek Armstrong, Rovi
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