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The best of its genre There are so many romantic movies out there, both comedies and dramas. Many of them are relatively entertaining despite being sickening schmaltz. On very rare occasions, there is a romantic movie that truly tugs at the heart, a movie that is true art, not lightweight romantic entertainment. One of these rare movies is The Notebbook. What a beautifly made, truly moving effort. If you have seen some of the other reviews you saw that this is not a mere "chick flick." The guys are moved to tears too. At an assisted living home, a beautiful but senile elderly woman, played by Geena Rowlands, is read to by an older gentleman (James Garner). He reads to her, from a notebook, a saga of a young couple played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. In South Carolina, around 1940, the young man, who is very poor, is smitten with the young woman. Ultimately, the couple is separated because of domineering parents who disapprove. During World War II, as a volunteer nurse, the young woman meets a wounded soldier and later, when he recovers, he turns out to be a perfectly wonderful, decent man. One major plot line is who she will ultimately end up with. The saga of the relationships is recounted by the older man reading the notebook. The senile woman is enthralled with the story. There are so many twists and turns and in the last ten minutes of the movie, there are three separate moments where the tears flow. It's not sacharine nonsense, it's truly moving and exceedingly well acted. What makes this movie so great is that the tear jerker moments occur between the older characters played by Rowlands and Garner. Any young hot couple can be the subject of a romance. True love, however, lasts a lifetime. I highly recommend this movie.