The Notebook (2004)

Most people think so. 84% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics scored it lower at 54%, but audiences disagreed.

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. Wikipedia ↗

The Notebook is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on Nicholas Sparks's 1996 bestselling novel. The film tells the story of Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling, and Allie Hamilton, played by Rachel McAdams, whose passionate summer romance in 1940s South Carolina is torn apart by class differences — Noah is a poor laborer and Allie is from a wealthy, prominent family. The central love story is framed by a present-day narrative in which an elderly man, played by James Garner, reads the story from a notebook to a fellow nursing home resident with dementia, played by Gena Rowlands.

The Notebook became one of the defining romantic films of its generation, achieving a cultural status that transcended its modest critical reception. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams's chemistry was electric and paradoxically authentic — the actors reportedly clashed intensely during filming, with Gosling at one point requesting McAdams be replaced, yet their on-screen passion was so convincing it became the gold standard for movie romance. The rain-soaked reunion kiss became one of the most iconic romantic images in modern cinema.

The film's framing device, revealing the connection between the elderly couple and the young lovers, delivered an emotional gut-punch that audiences found devastating. The Notebook earned $115 million worldwide on a $29 million budget and became an enormous home video success, particularly with female audiences who made it one of the most-purchased DVDs of the 2000s.