Latest DVD Releases Films

Films that succeed beyond understanding in their brilliance are few and far between and there are many films that come pretty close. The Notebook is such a movie.

Ryan Gosling's acting in this movie is outstanding and is convincing as a period actor and someone who can hold your attention and emote real feelings. I was expecting most of the actors to have looks on their faces as if they just stepped out of the mall like in so many other modern films, whether they be period costume drama, or no.

The downfall of The Notebook was the abysmal score that not only seemed absent but improperly planted `hit' music along the way. I was blown away by how bad the music was in this film that I quickly realized that it was harming the viewing experience. The music in films like this is absolutely important and keeps the brain fully engaged at all the right moments so that those profound moments don't get lost in a `let down'. Ryan Gosling's speech to Rachel McAdams at the car towards the end about `Do me a favour, just picture your life forty years from now ...' is magnificent but is chopped at the knees by any real emotional pull that the music is supposed to deliver.

This is a minor point to some, but if you're a person, like me, who pays a great deal of attention to music in all films, it's not such a small thing by any means. Casablanca is burned into the minds of most of us because of `As Time Goes By', and it's just a fact. Nico Muhly's scoring on the more modern `The Reader', tells us that these ideas about music and film being deeply connected still hold true and should be respected.

Whoever was responsible for the score here, and according to IMDb it's someone named Aaron Zigman, I don't think I'd ever hire this person to work on any film, nor would I look forward to anything he's involved in either. You can also add Paul Broucek's name to that list as he was the Producer that gave the go ahead for these decisions. Just absolutely depressing without doubt. How sad.

Minus two for the lack of musical direction. Brilliant writing and fine acting.

...Get more detail about The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series).

Labels: Best The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series), Buy The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series), Cheap The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series), Discount The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series), Lo, The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series)