The Notebook (2004) is a dramatic romance film that begins in a nursing home, where an elderly man named Duke reads a love story to a woman suffering from dementia. The story he reads is about two young lovers, Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), and the obstacles they faced in their relationship.
Noah is a working-class kid who works at a lumberyard, while Allie is a privileged girl spending her summer at her family’s mansion. They meet at a carnival, where Noah is instantly captivated by Allie. He stops at nothing to convince her to go on a date with him, going as far as hanging from a Ferris wheel until she agrees. Their summer romance grows, and they fall deeply in love, envisioning a future together in a house Noah promises to buy and restore for her.
However, their relationship is cut short when Allie’s parents disapprove, seeing Noah as unworthy of their daughter. They forbid her from seeing him and move her away to college. On the night before she leaves, Noah and Allie have an emotional fight, with Noah professing his love and begging her to stay. But, feeling torn between her feelings and her parents’ expectations, Allie leaves to college.
During their separation, Noah writes to Allie every day for a year (365 letters), but her mother hides them, ensuring Allie never sees any of them. Heartbroken and believing Noah has moved on, Allie eventually does the same.
Noah enlists in the army during World War II, while Allie volunteers as a nurse for wounded soldiers. During this time, she falls in love with Lon Hammond Jr. (James Marsden), a wealthy lawyer who seems to be the perfect match for her. After a few years, they get engaged, and Allie prepares for her wedding.
Meanwhile, Noah returns from the war and learns that his father sold their home to help him buy and restore the old house he once promised Allie. He renovates it to match every detail they had dreamed of, hoping that one day she will return.
While Allie prepares for her wedding, she sees a newspaper article featuring Noah standing in front of his restored home. Overcome with emotions and unresolved feelings, she decides to visit him before getting married.
She arrives at Noah’s home, and the two instantly reconnect, reflecting on their past and their lingering love for each other. They have an emotional confrontation, where Noah reveals that he never stopped loving her, and Allie is heartbroken when she learns that he wrote her a letter every day for a year—letters she never received.
Allie confronts her mother, who finally admits to hiding the letters. In a moment of vulnerability, her mother takes Allie to see a man she once loved but had to leave behind, revealing that she also had a great love she lost. She then returns the letters to Allie and lets her make her own decision.
Torn between Lon and Noah, Allie confesses everything to Lon and realizes her heart belongs to Noah. She returns to his home, choosing to be with him.
The film then cuts back to the present day in the nursing home, where it is revealed that Duke is actually Noah, and the woman he is reading to is Allie, now suffering from dementia. Though she no longer remembers the life they spent together, Noah reads their love story to her every day, hoping for a brief moment of recognition. For a quick moment, she remembers him in their final evening together. That night, they peacefully pass away in their sleep, holding hands, fullfilling their promise to never be apart.
The Notebook (2004) is a love story that explores the tension between fate and choice. Noah and Allie’s love seems destined, yet they both fight against societal expectations and personal doubts to be together. In the end, the film shows that love is about commitment, sacrifice, and cherishing the moments we have.
