On June 25, 2004, one of the most iconic romance movies debuted in theaters. Based on a book by Nicholas Sparks, “The Notebook” has become a symbol of romantic passion with the image of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams kissing in the rain being recognizable around the world.
“The Notebook” played 7 p.m., Feb. 14, in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The film tells the story of Allie, played by McAdams, a young socialite who falls in love with Noah, played by Gosling, a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks. After a summer of passion, they are torn apart by Allie’s parents and societal expectations, but their paths ultimately reconverge nearly a decade later.
A generation of college students who grew up with the movie have now returned to see it back on the big screen twenty years after its theatrical release ended. Can “The Notebook” stand the test of time? Bloomington residents argue it can.
Karina Villa, an IU sophomore who attended the movie with her boyfriend Jae Park, said the story was universal.
“I think that everybody has seen it,” she said. “It’s just a universal love story that I think everybody responds really positively to.”
Box office attendant Alayna Mooy agreed. Mooy has seen “The Notebook” seven times but still loves watching it. Mooy said the film was so intriguing because of its refusal to shy away from the hard parts of love and because it represents the realities of growing older, something Mooy said was rarely shown in romance movies.
“I think it’s realistic because when you live with someone for both of your lives, it’s not gonna be pretty at the end,” Mooy said. “Their love was happy, but it was still a sad ending.”
However, Bloomington locals and couple Isaiah Farmer and Madeleine Lapoiente took the opposite view. To them, the movie represented the joys of being young.
“I think the beginning scenes, like the first thirty minutes or so with all the flashbacks, reminds us of us,” Lapoiente said. “Just being young and being in love, with the kind of energy between Allie and Noah.”
Lapoiente and Farmer both grew up in Bloomington and met in high school, but they didn’t start dating until exactly a month ago in January when they reconnected on a whim. Farmer said the Buskirk-Chumley was a key part of their pasts in Bloomington. He remembered local theater acts performing at the venue when he was younger but liked that it was now showing movies. Both he and Lapoiente are big movie fans, especially of “The Notebook.”
“There’s seeing (“The Notebook”) at your house and then there’s seeing it at the Buskirk-Chumley,” he said. “You don’t watch “The Notebook” with someone you don’t love.”
