The Movie Insider

Based on the acclaimed best seller by Nicholas Sparks and directed by Nick Cassavetes ("John Q")," The Notebook" is a sweeping love story starring Academy Award nominees James Garner, Gena Rowlands and Joan Allen opposite newcomers Ryan Gosling ("Murder by Numbers") and Rachel McAdams. As a man (Garner) reads from a faded notebook to the woman (Rowlands) he regularly visits at a nursing home, his words bring to life the story of a young couple (Gosling and McAdams) who are separated by World War II, then passionately reunited 14 years later after their lives have taken different paths. Adapted by Jan Sardi with a screenplay by Jeremy Leven (Don Juan DeMarco), "The Notebook" reveals an epic story of love lost and found, of new beginnings and second chances.