BEHIND EVERY GREAT LOVE IS A GREAT STORY.
Duke (James Garner) spends his day reading Allie (Gena Rowlands) the story of how a young man (Ryan Gosling) met and fell in love with the daughter (Rachel McAdams) of a wealthy couple; their romance turns complicated. In the director’s hands, Nicholas Sparks’s sincerely romantic novel turns into a sincerely romantic film, set in two different eras whose protagonists we learn more about as the story progresses. A bittersweet and emotional movie about fighting for love; Garner and Rowlands provide the genuine heart of the story, but the 1940s part is less original and engaging, including the acting.
2004-U.S. 124 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed byĀ Nick Cassavetes. Novel: Nicholas Sparks. Cast: Ryan Gosling (Noah Calhoun), Rachel McAdams (Allie Hamilton), James Garner (Duke), Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly… Joan Allen, Sam Shepard.
Trivia: Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon and Ashley Judd were allegedly considered for parts.
