The Notebook Essay Example for Free

The Notebook Essay The film The Notebook is a 2004 romantic drama set along the coast line of South Carolina in 1946, directed by Nick Cassavetes. This film is an American love story between two young adults, Ally and Noah, which had fallen for each other over a short summer break and was torn apart due to financial differences that were looked down upon by Allys parents. Noah Calhoun, played by Ryan Gosling, is a rural southerner who had fought in world war two after his beloved Ally had left him after their summer romance had come to an abrupt end. This film is set from Noahs point of view many years later after their love had been rekindled while his Ally is in a nursing home suffering from onset Alzheimer’s which is to whom he is reading this love story too. The reason Noah and Allys summer love comes to an end is because Allys parents are these rich, essentially, stuck up people, who are only in Seabrook for summer vacation. To their dismay their daughter falls for this you man, Noah, who is just a commoner in town with not a dime to his name that they consider trash. This is why they pack themselves up with out a moments notice and leave town the next day. Upon Allys departure Noah writes Ally every day for a year, three hundred and sixty-five letters. Noah does not receive, not even one letter, back from Ally due to the fact that her mother takes every single letter that wrote and puts them aside so that Ally would not receive them. A while after Noah lists to be drafted for World War II where he loses his best friend in action. After returning home from war, to Noahs discovery, his father has sold their home to but an abandoned house in town. This was which was Noahs dream to restore this home for Ally; it was something they had talked about during that summer. After not seeing or hearing from Ally for several years Noah crosses paths with her in Charleston where she witnesses her kissing Lon, her current fiance, in a restaurant. Shattered by this seen this is Noahs drive to finish restoring the house, thinking that once Ally realizes what he has done she will come back to him. Amongst doing so with his father’s help, Noahs father passes, which gives him more drive to finish the home in order to bring back the one and only thing he feels he has left. Once finishing the house a picture of the home and Noah are photographed and place in the newspaper, Noah had tried selling the house but no offer was ever good enough when he thought about Ally. Ally is at a bridal shop when her mother shows her the paper where it had talked about her wedding being the biggest event of the year. It is then that Ally opens the paper and sees Noah standing next to the house when she faints. This is when Ally decides to leave and go back to Seabrook to see Noah and the gorgeous home he has restored, which is the seen I have chosen to analyze. Upon Allys arrival Noah is shocked; they spend a couple of days together making dinner enjoying each other’s company. Noah takes her out on the row boat to a place that is filled with these beautiful white birds that look like swans where Ally feeds them. On the way in it starts pouring rain they make it to the dock and Ally starts to run up to the dock to the house while Noah pulls the boat in and she stops and yells Why didnt you write me? It wasn’t over for me! Why didnt you write? Noah pauses, looks at her and says, I wrote you, three hundred and sixty-five letters. I wrote you every day for a year. Ally, You wrote me? Noah, It wasnt over for me either. It still isn’t over. Noah pulls her into kiss her and picks her up and carries her upstairs where they make love. Here I think the rain symbolizes and adds to the drama and emotion that the script is portraying. It allows the emotion to sink in a little deeper and reach the viewers down deep. Also being tha t this scene is outside in a rain storm, it’s gloomy and hazy. I believe that feelings adds to the confusion between Ally and Noah of her not knowing that Noah had written her and Noah not knowing that Ally had not received his letters. The setting allows you to sympathize for the misunderstanding more. This setting is taken as a full shot which allows you to view the landscape around Ally and Noah as well as their entire figure. It allows you to view their body language from a distance standing in the rain and how it affects their wardrobe. The quick close up as Noah pulls her in to kiss her as he picks her up allows the viewers to witness the emotion and passion that Noah and Ally have for one another. The next morning Allys mother shows up, once hearing she returned to Seabrook, she knew exactly where she would be able to find Ally. Her mother knocks on the door and asks Ally to come with her. She takes her to a factory where man is outside working and points to a man. She tells Ally that was her Noah so to speak when she was younger. She tells Ally’s that she knows how she feels because she loves her father but still has never forgotten or lost feelings for this man. She also tells Ally that this is her choice and that she will now respect any decision she makes but to make sure that the decision she makes is the one that will make her happy. They return back to the house and her mother hands her all of her letters and apologized for keeping them from her. She also advised her that Lon, her fiance, was in town. Noah sees all of her with the letters he wrote her several years ago and asks Ally what she is going to do. Ally states that she doesn’t know. Noah becomes frustrated because he is upset that they are back to that same place where their relationship is unknown after the few wonderful days that they have spent together. He tells Ally that she is scared of not having security, meaning money. Ally storms out to her car and says she has to go. Noah tells her Youre bored and you know it. If there wasnt something missing you wouldnt be here. Will you just stay with me? Ally, Why? Look at us we are already fighting. Noah, Thats what we do we fight. You tell me when I am being an asshole and I tell you when you are being a pain in the ass. Ally, So what? Noah, So its not going to be easy. Its going to be really hard; were going to have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me, everyday. † Noah tells asks here, Do something for me, just picture your life thirty, forty years from now. If its with him then go, go! I lost you once I think I can do it again if I thought it’s what you really wanted. But don’t you take the easy way out! For myself, I think the script has a lot to do with the way someone is going to react or feel about a film. In this scene, the script it so real and raw that everyone can relate to it and understand the emotion behind the feelings. The emotion behind the script is what engages the viewer to understand and keep them connected to want to watch the film and to continue being engaged. That is essentially one of the main ways of getting someone to connect with something, through emotion. Also in this scene they are outside but the camera view is focused on them, up close, personal. There is also not even a subtle back or outside noise which allows you to focus on the script. This scene also contains mostly an eye-level angle which puts the viewers on an equal footing with the Ally and Noah. This is one of the most commonly used angles in films to allow the viewers to feel more comfortable with the characters in the film. This setting being outside with Ally at her car wanting to leave after this romantic reconnection over the past two days I feel also adds drama, because the viewers at this point are not wanting Ally to leave Noah yet again. I believe that the techniques used in this film create such correlated cinematography. It allows you to create such a connection with the characters on such an emotional level. To do so and keep viewers connected and wanting more is what makes a good film. With these camera angles and shots, with the settings that they were in I feel were completed successfully and would not leave any viewer disconnected or un-oriented.