Patrice Bendig



Student: Patrice Bendig English 1000C Essay Number-1

ESSAY COVERSHEET

Instructions: For each essay, complete a coversheet after you have written a discovery draft and then submit the coversheet with all subsequent drafts of the essay, revising the coversheet as needed if your approach to the essay changes. You may write on the back of this sheet if you need more room.

1. In a word or phrase, describe your topic.- Movie review on The Notebook

2. In a word or phrase, give your working title.- The Notebook- not just another teen romance

3. Complete the following sentence that tells why you are an insider on this subject; that is, what qualifies you to write on this subject.?

I am an insider on this subject because I have watched this movie twenty times and have done research on the film.

4. In two to four sentences complete the following, which should describe your target audience in specific terms: class, gender, race, age, educational level, geographical location and the like.

My target readers are anyone who has interest in the movie.

I have chosen this specific audience because the essay is a movie review.

5. Complete the following statements that indicate (a) the purpose that you want to achieve in writing this essay for this specific audience and (b) the response you expect from this audience.

My purpose in writing this essay is to give my critique on the film The Notebook

I hope my audience will respond by understanding the points I make

6. Complete the following sentence to indicate what value your essay holds for its readers.

My readers will benefit from reading this essay by knowing more about the film.

7. In a word or phrase, identify the role you are playing as the author of this essay: Are you writing in your role as a university student, new parent, concerned citizen, dedicated worker, or what?

Reviewer

8. In a complete sentence, state your thesis. Be sure that this statement is the same thesis that appears in your essay.

i. The Notebook is a film that encapsulates the idea of true, never ending romance.

Patrice Bendig

121-Eng1000c

Professor Leston

13 May 2008

Peer Review Draft

There are some films that take you by surprise, and leave you with a sense of heartache. It is not a bad heartache, but more of a longing. A longing for something you see in the film, a characteristic that a character has, the dream mansion, or the perfect love. In the film of The Notebook, the one thing a person will walk way with is the longing of the perfect love story.

The film centers on the trials and tribulations of two people, Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling, and Allie Hamilton, played by Rachel McAdams, who met during their seventeenth summer on earth who were destined to be soul mates ( ). At the end of that fateful summer, Allie’s parents drag her back home in the North to return to school because they do not approve of Noah, since he is lower class while they are upper class. She is not even allowed to say goodbye to Noah, leaving him confused on why she left without saying a word.

To prove his love for her, he writes her a letter every day for three hundred and sixty days. Without her knowledge, Allie’s mother hides the letters, so that Allie knows not even of their existence. From then on, their story unfolds into how one summer of what started out as racing hormones turned in and undying love, that was able to survive several years of complete separation.

Even while they were both leading completely different lives, Allie going to school and getting engaged while Noah signs up to fight in World War II, they still cannot move on from each other. After seven years of not seeing or hearing of each other, Noah decides to build Allie the dream house she spoke of when they were together. He believes that if he builds this masterpiece, Allie will have no choice but to come back to him. His plan works, because as soon as hears of it, she leaves her fiancé and ventures down to see Noah. Though they are older, and have had other loves, no one compares to their first love, each other.

Yes, this plot sounds extremely cliché, but what separates this film from being another chick flick, is that the story is told in flash backs. The story is being revealed by Noah, who is now around eighty years old. He is living in a nursing home, taking care of his love, Allie, who is suffering from the later stages of dementia. She has no idea who she is, or that her soul mate is sitting right beside her. Although the doctors tell him that there is no possible way Allie will recognize him, Noah retells their story to her every day, it hope that maybe she will come back, even for a little bit. James Garner and Jenna Rowans play the aged version of the soul mates ( ) . Watching them interact with each other, one would think that these two actors were actually a married couple dealing with the pains of growing old.

Every element of the film, from the beautiful lake that opens the film, to the character’s chemistry literally giving off sparks, is enriched to the theme of romance.

How does romance encapsulate the film? The most noticeable aspect it is located in is in the plot line, in which the love story of Noah and Allie are the focus of the story. Yet that is love, not romance. Romance is the passion, the luring of one to fall into love. It is no immediate, nor is it simple. One can have love without romance, but it is not as magical or memorable as being romanced by the one who truly loves you.

Noah exhibits the art of romance in almost every part of the film he is in with Allie. The first example is when they are on the first date, and he tells her to lie in the middle of the street with him. He tells how he and his father used to engage in this activity when he was a child, therefore sharing an intimate moment. At first, Allie was disengaged with Noah, but as he revealed himself, she began to become more drawn in.

Another example is the infamous writing of the letters. When Allie was whisked away without saying goodbye, Noah wrote a letter to her every day of the year. Each one he wrote about his undying love for her and how he missed her. By giving so much time and caring so much to go through the effort to write them, he was being romantic in a way he did not even mean to be. That is the true art of being romantic.

When an arrangement of lyrics and melody are put together correctly, they form music that can evoke feelings in the soul that can have a profound affect on a person’s emotions. In The Notebook, the music in film is reflective on the time era of the story, which is in the late 1930s to the 1940s. Songs such as “I’ll be seeing you” sung by Sammy Fain, expresses the emotion that was felt during World War Two when soldiers were deploying and not sure if they were every going to see their families again. In the film, Noah goes to serve in World War Two while Allie serves as a nurse to take care of injured soldiers. As Noah is retelling their story to Allie, he says “Every soldier that Allie treated was Noah to her” () . What is also unique in how the song is used is how the song is played again in the film when Allie (the older version) briefly comes out of her dementia for a few fleeting moments, and then slips right back into it. Her husband stands there heartbroken, as the song plays while the nurses sedate her. Again, the song plays to signify that they may never be together the same way again, but their memories will always keep their relationship alive.

The settings of certain scenes are what ultimately make the film the bleeding romantic classic that it is. The nursing home where the aged couple lives is set on a lake, where it is peaceful and tranquil. In the opening and closing scenes of the film, the camera pans across the lake at sunset, with two birds flying.

Romance is expressed in many ways, and physical contact is a great example. There are many scenes that show the two teenagers kissing passionately, but there is one moment that captures the innocence of both. Noah and Allie plan to have intercourse, but Allie is having doubts because she is a virgin and only seventeen. The scene goes from both of them slowly removing their clothes, to laying there unable to actually go through with it. The way this was revealed, tastefully and so poignant, is another reason why the movie is so different than any other teenage love film. It shows true awkwardness and doubt of youth that no one can escape.

The lake is also reference to a scene that will appear later in the film, in which a reunited Noah and Allie are out on a small row boat. The skies open up, and as soon as the clouds give way, so does their emotions. It is in the pouring rain on the lake when Allie confronts Noah on why he never tried to find her, and he explains that he did. Finally knowing the truth and realizing she does still love him, they kiss passionately in the downpour. This scene is crucial because finally reunites the couple physically.

Another great element of the film is the authenticity of the era. The film takes plays in the 30s and 40s, which has its own distinct fashion, music, values and economic dimensions. Allie wears a variety of costumes in the film, ranging from business outfits, extravagant ballroom dances, to her nurse uniform. Noah was kept very simple, with a button down shirt, suspenders, slacks and a cap. This kept the magic of the film, making it known this is not a generic love story.

As much applause as this film warrants there are parts and elements that take away from the luster of the movie. They are many characters in the movie that are not totally development, and very fatigue. Characters such as Allie’s father (played by David Thornton) and Sarah, Allie’s friend who introduced her to Noah, (Heather Wahlquist), are two main staples in Allie’s life that are only mentioned briefly (). Nothing is ever mentioned about Sarah after the first ten minutes and Mr. Hamilton’s part is minuscule compared to his spouse in the film, played by Joan Allen.

Like many big screen classics, The Notebook is based off of a book, which bears its same name. The book was written by author Nicholas Sparks, who was unknown at the time, which was written in 1994, sold to Warner Brothers in 1995 and published in 1996 ( ) . This was the start of many heartfelt novels Sparks would pen, including another well known story that was brought to the big screen, A Walk to Remember, in 2001 () . For the most part, the film does say true to the story, except for a few details that are really minor. First are the ages of Noah and Allie. In the book, Allie is only fifteen and Noah is seventeen. In the film adaptation, Allie is said to be seventeen, and it is assumed that Noah is too.

Many may say that this film is only for women, which is quite the opposite. The story is meant for anyone who has experienced or longed for true love, and who have longed for someone who is unattainable. Anyone who has experienced life itself can appreciate this film, and perhaps have their faith in true love restored (). The length of the separation of Noah and Allie is also changed for the film. In the book, the couple was apart for fourteen years before they are reunited, while in the movie it is only half of that time (). Another difference is the time span of World War II. In the movie, the war breaks out one year after the summer in which the two met. In the book, it is a decade after their meeting ().

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