Film Snail

7.9

The Notebook

PG-13·2004·123m

Romance

Drama

Romance

Drama

Summary

An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.

Cast

Ryan Gosling

Noah Calhoun

Rachel McAdams

Allie Hamilton

Gena Rowlands

Older Allie

James Garner

Duke

Joan Allen

Anne Hamilton

David Thornton

John Hamilton

James Marsden

Lon Hammond

Kevin Connolly

Fin

Sam Shepard

Frank Calhoun

Starletta DuPois

Nurse Esther

Ed Grady

Harry

Jennifer Echols

Nurse Selma

Heather Wahlquist

Sara Tuffington

Cullen Moss

Bodee

Thunderbird Dinwiddie

Veronica

James Middleton

Aaron

Peter Rosenfeld

Professor

Obba Babatundé

Band Leader

Chuck Pacheco

Bus Driver

Todd Lewis

Reporter

Mark Johnson

Photographer

Robert Fraisse

Buyer #1

Barbara Weetman

Buyer #2

Daniel Chamblin

Buyer #3

Sasha Azevedo

Wife of Buyer #3

Jamie Anne Allman

Martha Shaw

Rebecca Koon

Aunt Georgia

Sandra Elise Williams

Aunt Jeanette

Deborah Hobart

Aunt Kitty

Sylvia Jefferies

Rosemary

Mark Garner

Lon's Employee

Scott Ritenour

Lon's Employee

Milton Buras

Lon's Employee

Elizabeth Bond

Lon's Secretary

Matthew Barry

Dr. Barnwell

Nancy De Mayo

Mary Allen

Renée Amber

Nurse at Counter

Tim O'Brien

Mr. Tuffington

Meredith O'Brien

Mrs. Tuffington

Geoffrey Knight

Barker

Andrew Schaff

Matthew Jamison III

Tim Ivey

Rower

Anthony-Michael Q. Thomas

Nurse Keith

Matt Shelly

Seabrook Boy

Michael D. Fuller

Seabrook Boy

Jonathan Parks Jordan

Seabrook Boy

Leslea Fisher

Seabrook Girl

Jude Kitchens

Tommy the Ferris Wheel Operator

Pat Leonard

Lieutenant Davis

Kweli Leapart

Willa

Frederick Bingham

Postman

Daniel Czekalski

Recruitment Officer

Bradley D. Capshaw

Injured Soldier

James Scott Deaton

Injured Soldier

Eve Kagan

Sarah Lawrence Girl

Stephanie Wheeler

Sarah Lawrence Girl

Erin Guzowski

Sarah Lawrence Girl

John Cundari

Maitre D'

Hugh Robertson

Pastor

Robert Washington

Elgin

Robert Ivey

Dressmaker

Sherril M. Turner

Linda Jean

Meredith Zealy

Maggie

Julianne Keller Lewis

Davanee

Madison Wayne Ellis

Noah, Jr.

Riley Novak

Edmond

Ronald Betts

Male Nurse

Paul Johansson

Allie's Mom's Ex Boyfriend (uncredited)

David Abrams

Recruit (uncredited)

Bruce Williamson

Carnival Patron (uncredited)

Bob Forrest

Man Having Dinner in Retirement Home (uncredited)

Taylor Engel

Guy in Movie Theatre (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Nick Cassavetes

Novel

Nicholas Sparks

Screenplay

Jeremy Leven

Screenplay

Jan Sardi

Reviews

Geronimo1967

September 4, 2023

A gently touching look at an elderly couple who must deal with present day mental illness told through a retrospective of their not uneventful lives. Rachel McAdams is "Allie", a young girl from a wealthy family who falls for "Noah" (Ryan Gosling) but her mother wants much better for her, so takes her away to their city home and keeps all of his (365) letters. He joins the Army and fights in WWII and, after time, she meets the handsome, wealthy James Marsden ("Lon") but before she marries, she returns to their old stomping ground and... To be fair, the young love/boy from the wrong side of the tracks story elements of the plot are a bit old hat. It's the delicate mechanics of the film that work best - James Garner ("Duke") is reading a story to dementia suffered "Allie" (Gena Rowlands) about the shenanigans of a young couple in the 1940s without us necessarily realising how poignant and apposite his story is. Gradually we become more invested in their lives and as the story starts to knit together, we start to appreciate just how hard it can be for a couple where one has this most cruel of illnesses. Good performances all around, and from Joan Allen as her interfering mother make this an engaging drama with a sharp end!