I actually saw the movie before reading the book by Nicholas Sparks, which to a certain extent was a bad thing. This was only a bad thing because, like most people, I enjoy being able to create the characters in my head in the way they were described rather than picturing the actors. The movie follows the book pretty well which made me happy as both book and movie lover. After watching and reading it became apparent to me that this has to be both my favourite movie and book. The love story is both heartwarming and yet tragically sad for all viewers and readers. We are introduced to Noah Calhoun as the narrator in both the book and the movie and we can’t help but instantly fall in love with his sweet character. Both book and movie flip back and forth through the past and present as Noah tells the story of how he fell in love with Allie Nelson. Later on we find out that Noah is telling this story in order for his wife, Allie who is suffering from a severe case of dementia, in order to try and get her to remember him and their love for one another. There are moments when Allie remembers who Noah is but it doesn’t normally last very long. The doctors cannot figure out how she can possibly remember parts of her past because of her level of dementia but it becomes clear to both viewer and reader that it is her undying love for Noah that assists her in remembering him.
There are a few differences in the film than in the book but this happens with most movies. The director thought that the film needed more drama in order to keep the audience interested in how their relationship turns out. In the movie we see Noah and Allie getting to into an argument after Allie’s parents clearly state that Noah is not good enough for their daughter. This makes Noah incredibly upset and causes him to leave the house. This argument between Noah and Allie causes them to break up, leaving the viewer just as upset as Noah and Allie are. However, in the book there isn’t an argument between Allie and Noah, it is much calmer. In the movie it is stated that they argued over everything “but the one thing they had in common was, they were crazy for each other”. In the book we are made to believe that their relationship was perfect and that they never argued, which is in essence true as they were so madly in love with each other.
After breaking up with each other and Noah realising that Allie went away to school he decides to write to her everyday, in the book it was two years and in the movie it was one. However, she never got one letter from Noah which forced her to move on from him because she thought he didn’t care anymore. Allie gets engaged to someone else during this time apart from Noah. Allie is getting her wedding dress fitted when she comes across a newspaper article on Noah and the house that he fixed up over the years. Allie then decides to go visit Noah and they instantly know that they never stopped loving each other. Noah takes her on a boat so she can see the swans when a thunderstorm hits. When they dock the boat she demands to know why he never wrote to her as he explains that he wrote to her everyday. This eventually leads to them kissing passionately in the rain. This scene is one of the most memorable in both book and movie, along with the beach scene where Allie wants to be a bird and Noah says “If you’re a bird then I’m a bird”. The kiss in the rain scene never happens in the book but has become one of the most important scenes in the movie. Even though this scene is very different to the book it allows the viewer to see how madly in love they have always been for each other even when they were apart. In the book Nicholas Sparks describes the events in much more detail which is what I love about the way he writes. In the book Sparks describes the scene when Allie shows up to see him. Sparks describes everything that Noah is doing, he explains the way Noah is cooking the lobsters and fresh vegetables so we as readers can imagine it perfectly. However, in the movie we are only shown them finishing dinner which was a bit of a disappointment when I watched it.
Our first encounter with Noah in the movie at the fair ground really showed off Noah’s personality which I loved. We were able to see that he was bold, flirty and determined, allowing us to see that he was not going to give up until he had Allie for himself. Both book and movie showed the events that took place over the summer and portrayed their summer romance amazingly. The movie was able to show us the vibrant colours and wonderful music in these scenes that the book wasn’t able to show us.
I have always said that I prefer the books to the movies because they give me more detail to work with and really bring me into the book. However, I have to say that the movie really captured the story of the book perfectly. I loved watching the movie and seeing the actors do a brilliant job with the characters they were playing. The movie stuck to the story line and didn’t add too much to it. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie or read the book add it to your bucket list because it is a must do. You will fall in love with the characters instantly and will most certainly be added to your favourites list.
Writer's Block 