Summary
- The Notebook uses flashbacks to tell the central romance between Noah and Allie, set in the 1940s during World War II.
- The present-day timeline of the movie is set in 2004, where an older Noah reads their story to Allie who suffers from dementia.
- The movie is mainly set in South Carolina, with Seabrook Island and Charleston playing important roles in the story.
The Notebook takes place across two different timelines and uses flashbacks to tell its story, setting the central romance of the movie in a particular location and era. Released in 2004, The Notebook is based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. It tells of the turbulent romance of Noah, a poor man who falls in love with Allie, a rich young woman. Although from opposite worlds, Allie and Noah are constantly drawn together, and she finds a new sense of freedom with him. However, their love story becomes difficult when the all-important social difference drives a wedge in their relationship.
Leading the cast of The Notebook as Noah and Allie are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, who famously had one of the most passionate movie kisses ever, while James Garner and Gena Rowlands play their older counterparts. The Notebook uses older Noah as the narrator of the story, as he recounts their story accompanied by flashbacks to their younger days falling in love. The use of flashbacks comes full circle at the end of The Notebook with the reveal that the woman Noah is telling the story to is Allie.
The Notebook’s Flashbacks Take Place In The 1940s
The Notebook’s flashbacks take place in the 1940s, with the first one set in the year 1940. This is when Noah first sees Allie at a carnival, and pursues her, marking the start of their love story. The rest of the flashbacks continue throughout the decade, particularly during World War II. This is when Allie meets Lon as she treats him at a hospital for wounded soldiers. Following Allie and Lon’s relationship, and Noah returning from the war, the rest of the flashbacks take place after 1945. Noah is able to buy and restore the Windsor Plantation, and he and Allie reunite when she sees his accomplishment in the paper.
The Notebook’s Present-Day Timeline Is Set In 2004
The Notebook’s present-day timeline is set in 2004 — 64 years after the first flashback. The audience does not know that this is an older Noah and Allie at first. Noah uses the pseudonym “Duke” as it is revealed Allie is suffering from dementia and does not know who he is. Allie wrote their story in the notebook at the start of her illness and Noah reads it to her daily, using the pseudonym to not scare her. When it is revealed that they are Noah and Allie, it confirms that they lived a long, happy life together until they died peacefully in their sleep together.
The Notebook Is Set In South Carolina
The Notebook is set in South Carolina, mainly in the town of Seabrook. Noah first sees Allie at the carnival on Seabrook Island, as she and her family spend their summers there. Seabrook is not the only place used in The Notebook; Allie returns home to Charleston after her parents forbid her from having a relationship with Noah.
The Battle of the Bulge, which took place near Germany during World War II, is also featured. This is where Noah and his friend Fin fight and Fin sadly dies. The Notebook uses Seabrook as its core location, and that is where Noah stays to rebuild the Windsor Plantation and Allie eventually runs into him again. Seabrook is the main town, but The Notebook is set all around South Carolina.
