The film begins with this elderly duke in a nursing home during the present day at the time of its release. He reads from a notebook the true story about a young couple, who met in 1940.

The scene switches to a carefree 17-year-old boy, Noah, who is at a carnival looking for a girlfriend. After a few rejections, he meets this girl, Allie Hamilton, who is the same age as him. He tries to get her to love him. At first, Allie declines. But then Noah demands that she tells him that she loves him. So, she does.

After the carnival, Noah and Allie play around. Noah continues to be silly and makes Allie laugh.

But a car comes and almost hits them. Despite that, they dance together in the middle of a crosswalk.

Their relationship continues to grow. They do things like go to the beach and swing on a rope into a lake.

One night, Noah and Allie choose to date. But Allie’s parents find them. They do not approve of him. Allie’s parents take her home. They even move to New York.

A few years have passed. Allie attends a women’s university, and Noah serves in the war. They each have new love interests.

Allie even gets engaged to her boyfriend, Captain Lon Hammond Jr.. However, she still misses Noah.

Noah comes back from the war–only to discover that his house needs to be sold. One customer offers to buy it, but Noah won’t let him since he suspects that he is up to no good.

Allie tries on her wedding dress. But when she sees Noah’s story in the newspaper, she faints.

She reunites with him. But things are not the same anymore. For instance, Noah has another girlfriend, and she doesn’t like Allie.

Yet Allie and Noah fall in love again and spend more time together.

Eventually, Noah tells Allie that he had written to her for a year not long ago. But she hadn’t gotten any of his letters. Not long after, the two fight about if it’s really worth it for them to stay a couple.

I must admit how well-executed the plot was for this movie. The concept of someone reading a story and the main events center around that is reminiscent of The Princess Bride. Like that film, the woman that the man reads to also asks questions about Allie and Noah.

What makes the plot strong is focusing on the characters and how they struggle to achieve what they want. The characterization is strong, as well. They grow, change, and show lots of complexity. I especially disliked Allie’s mom for forcing her to leave Noah and not see him again.

Another example is when Noah starts out as a naive teenager at the beginning. But then becomes a more sophisticated young man with a little less patience. This shows how life plays a role in changing people.

Even though the beginning bored me a bit due to not having enough tension (although that was important), I admired how lighthearted and even funny it was. One part that impressed me was when Noah climbed the ferris wheel to get Allie to love him. Then Allie publicly shamed him (but not in a mean way), by unbuckling his pants and pulling them down. Then everyone laughed at him. I remember thinking, Everyone laughs at a character in their underwear cliche. I will admit that that is a little overdone. But it still amuses me.

Tension does increase throughout the movie, such as arguments and emotional moments. I also think this strengthened the plot.

Regardless of this movie’s strengths, though, I will admit that one of the biggest weaknesses was the last several minutes of the film. I’m not going to say what happens. But I think that at least 15 minutes could’ve been cut.

Otherwise, I think The Notebook is a pretty decent film. It might even be relatable to real young adults.

Another thing to know is that the movie is rated PG-13, but more toward the cleaner end of that rating. There is some sexual content, smoking, brief nudity, and swearing. But they are all so minimal. I even think a preteen who is very mature for their age could watch this.

Because the mature content is barely there, this movie would likely be mild enough for people 13 and over to see. 

If you enjoy The Notebook, great. I would have enjoyed it more if the last quarter had been shortened.

Thus, I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars.