The Notebook

The Notebook is a 2 level story - one is the present day when Allie and Noah have grown old and live in a home; the other is the story Noah reads from the notebook in which he tells how he and Allie met, fell in love, lost each other, and then found each other again. The end of their love story is tragically altered by Allie’s Alzheimer’s, but even that has no power over their love. At the beginning of this movie the viewer is presented with a closeup of the character Duke. This shot allows the viewer to establish his character along with mise en scene in the form of the props used and dress - glasses and a wheelchair, which would often be commonly associated with the older generation. When he gets up to leave the room that he starts the scene in, he lifts a book from the bedside table, which looks quite like a notebook, this could possibly suggest to the audience that this is what contains the story about the unravel, as the title of the film is The Notebook. By the colours and types of props around the man, blue colours, light blankets, beds with rails on them, it could be suggested that this is some sort of care building, as it has some aspects of a hospital.

After he leaves, in the next thing, a pan of the building confirms this is a care home. Immediately after there is a long shot of Duke in another room interacting with other older characters, therefore showing this is an elderly people home - nursing home. Within the dialogue there is light humour, which possibly reassures the audience. By creating this scene of a nursing home, the emotions of the audience may begin to get involved here, because for me i genuinely wouldn't associate a nursing home as a place of happiness. Shortly after, we see Duke in a queue waiting to get pills (suggesting an illness?) and he says the the nurse 'Big day today', to which the nurse replies 'you say that everyday!'. This could intrigue the audience, or confuse them, either way it will maintain the interest. This 'big event' Duke speaks of will intrigue the audience, as this could be the basis of the story, however with the nurses comment it is suggested that he says this regularly and that it therefore isn't a big deal, it's simply an event which he has fabricated to become a big deal. The scene then immediately switches to closeup of a woman this time, who is dressed and looks very elegant, suggesting an upbringing of in high class. We see smaller props such as diamond rings, earrings and necklaces, adding to the wealthy aura of this elderly woman. The costume is modern therefore, showing that this scene is a modern day time, compared to the costume of Duke earlier, he is in typically old fashioned trousers and shirt, where the woman is in a blouse, trousers and cardigan. We then see a nurse come into the background who then begins to interact with the woman asking her to go outside. The woman's body language suggests that she is very nervous or tense at this idea. This is interesting and could lead the audience to think, is there something wrong with this woman that she can't handle such a simple task? The shot then switches to a wide shot of the whole room in which Duke walks into, he seems to be very optimistic in how he enters, although there is an overall solemn feeling in this room which would seep into the cinema room. The nurse then informs Duke that this isn't a 'good' day for the woman, this further heightens the sense that this woman suffers from something, however what it is hasn't been disclosed yet, holding the audience in anticipation. Through the tone of the woman's voice when she says 'hello', she sounds as though she is in the presence of a stranger, however through Duke it seems though he knows her. This is emotional because it gives the idea that he knows her and she doesn't know him, making the audience question if there is an illness here clouding the mind of one of the 2 people. Then Duke begins to read to the woman, this sets up the narrative and thus begins the story. This helps to also set up the genre of the film because it is obvious this man has some sort of love for this woman, yet it seems its rejected or not realised, therefore making us feel for the woman.