For two decades, a heartrending romantic film has continued to elicit tears from audiences worldwide.
The popular romance flick, headlined by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams portraying lovers from different social backgrounds, debuted on June 25, 2004. Directed by Nick Cassavetes, it's based on the 1996 Nicholas Sparks novel and follows an elderly gentleman, played by James Garner, reciting passages from a diary to a senile nursing home resident, portrayed by Gena Rowlands.
As he recites, the movie takes us back to 1940s South Carolina, where Gosling's character, Noah Calhoun, falls in love with wealthy girl Allie Hamilton, whose parents try to keep them apart.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cassavetes credited the film's success to its leading actors: "They're both the greatest actors in the world, and some of the things that I asked them to play were so difficult, and there was nothing they couldn’t do. If you want to know why The Notebook is considered kind of a romantic classic, the answers are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and that’s the beginning and the end of it."
Sparks drew motivation from a real-life couple to draft the love story. "It is a story of young love, it’s a story of reunited love, it’s a story of everlasting love," the author told CBS Sunday Morning. "It’s also a story of memory."
Here are five memorable dialogues from "The Notebook" movie:
- "It's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday." Noah to Allie
- "My dearest Allie, I couldn’t sleep last night because I know that it’s over between us... I’m not bitter anymore because I know that what we had was real... And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I’ll smile at you with joy, and remember how we spent a summer beneath the trees, learning from each other and growing in love." Noah in a letter to Allie
- "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul, and makes us reach for more, that, plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that’s what you’ve given me. That’s what I hope to give to you forever. I love you. I’ll be seeing you." Noah to Allie
- "Now, say you’re a bird."
"If you’re a bird, I’m a bird." Allie and Noah
- "Why didn’t you write me? Why? It wasn’t over for me, I waited for you for seven years. But now it’s too late."
"I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you everyday for a year."
"You wrote me?"
"Yes... it wasn’t over, it still isn’t over." Allie and Noah
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The film's success in the entertainment industry has been largely attributed to its leading actors, as director Nick Cassavetes mentioned in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Sparks, the author of the novel, also shared his thoughts on the love story with CBS Sunday Morning, highlighting its themes of young, reunited, and everlasting love.
