This movie is great for a good cry!

CBS Special
My husband was on a business trip a week and a half ago and I was waiting for my 18 month old son to fall asleep . I happen to turn on the TV and saw that they were about to play a movie special called "The Notebook". It looked like a good chic flick about a love story. So, I curled up on the couch for a great movie.

Premise of the movie
This is a story that starts out with an older gentleman (James Garner) reading to an "aging" lady friend (Gena Rowlands) from a notebook. He is reading to her at their home (a nursing home). She is very interested in this story and keeps wanting him to read on so that she can find out what happens in the story. She feels that the story sounds familiar to her, but just can't put her finger as to why.

The story in the Notebook
The story that sounds so familiar goes back to the 1940s when a teenage couple meet and fall in love. The guy, Noah, in the story (played by Ryan Gosling) is from an average to lower income and comes from a one parent family. Noah works at the mill for a measley 40 cents an hour, but works hard, and wants the simple things in life. The gal, Allie, whom he falls in love with as the opposite background. Her family comes from a lot of money, her mom and dad (and her) have always had the finer things in life, top tutors for schooling, dance lessons, music lessons, and more. Their meeting was just fate as her family was just spending the summer in the place where Noah lives.

Because of their different backgrounds their love was destined to just be a "summer romance" as Allie was headed for Sarah Lawrence college in the fall. Her parents wanted to see the romance end and the morning after she had been out late with Noah, her parents whisked her away before she even had a chance to say good-bye to Noah and that she still loved him.

Now their romance was up in the air at this point as they had a fight and broke up the last time they had talked face to face. But, they still loved each other and Noah wrote 365 letters (one each day for the next year) to tell Allie that it wasn't over for him. Unfortunately, Allie's mother intercepted all of the letters and Allie had no idea that Noah still felt this way toward her. So, after a couple of years she starts to move on with her life and meets a guy named Lan while working as a nurses aide. Lan and her date for awhile and eventually Lan asks her to marry him. The breaking point in the story though is when she is trying on her wedding gown and when reading the paper about her upcoming wedding she sees a picture of Noah after he re-stored the house he always dreamed of having. Allie faints when seeing this part of the paper.

Allie decides that she wants to go and see Noah- perhaps to feel closure, or to see how he is. She tells Lan she needs to go away for a few days and Lan lovingly lets her go take care of things.

After Allie arrives and sees Noah things are awkward as they haven't talked in years (or about the big elephant in the room- the letters!). She sees that Noah completed the house as he promised her and before leaving the first night she says "What we had was real wasn't it?" Noah is still pretty quiet, but asks her to come back in the morning because he wanted to show her something. In the morning when she returns he takes her for a ride in the row boat and after seeing a beautiful sight they get caught in the rain and both become completely soaked. When they get out of the boat out of frustration she finally asks the question...."Why didn't you write?!" He finally gets to tell her that he did-365 times! After she says it wasn't over for her and that she waited years for him. He then says it wasn't over for him then either and that it still isn't over for him. Then he kisses her passionately and they go in the house and make love several times.

Now she is in a dilemma... Noah is where her heart is... but she is now engaged to Lan... what does she do?

After confessing everything to Lan when he arrives in Seabrook (since she wasn't at the hotel like she was supposed to) he still said he wanted her but didn't want to have to convince her. Before Allie left Noah to talk to Lan, Noah said that he just wanted her to have what she wanted whether or not it was him.

But, Allie chooses Noah and goes to where her heart is.

Meanwhile
As the older gentleman is reading this story to his lady friend she finally remembers that this story is about them. She is Allie and is suffering from Alzheimer/Dementia and the gentleman is Noah - many years later who's body is physically wearing out.

After she remembers she talks to Noah like always, asks about the children, and tells her that she loves him. Unfortunately this time where she remembers doesn't last long (maybe 5 minutes) and then she starts screaming because she wonders why this guy is near her. Noah is crying at this point as they have to use a tranquilizer to calm her down.

The ending
Noah has another heart attack and gets taken away to the hospital for awhile and no one is around to talk to Allie. After Noah gets better and returns he visits Allie during the night. She is in a state where she remembers. She asks questions such as what happens when I can't remember anymore? Do you think our love will last forever? Noah lovingly says I think our love can have any miracles we want it to. He climbs into bed with her and holds her hands and say goodnight. The nurse in the morning finds that both of them have passed away during the night. They both got their wish, that they could always be together.

The difference between CBS and the movie
I did get to see both versions (CBS and renting it) and CBS did censor a little. CBS took out the stripping scenes and the swearing. There were also a few seconds of a couple of unimportant scenes that were deleted too, that really didn't detract from the story line.

What I loved about this story?
I am romantic who loves to read/watch sappy love stories and this is the best I have seen in awhile. I love that it shows Noah and Allie in their younger years and then in their older years. Also, I love the fact that it shows that money isn't everything and sometimes your love can feel more alive when all you have is each other and nature.

Overall
Even though this movie came out in 2004 you can still rent it today. I highly recommend it. You will get a good cry out of the ending!