Double Take: The Notebook & The Lake House

If you loved Noah and Allie’s epic romance, you’ll also enjoy this lesser known love story.

This Valentine’s (and Galentine’s) love is in the air, and on the screen. We’ve got just the recommendations for a night on the sofa with a good love story (or two) to indulge in. First up is the iconic The Notebook, which is up there with the greatest love stories of all time, but we’re also highlighting the less familiar The Lake House.

The Notebook (2004)

What is the plot of The Notebook?

Behind every great love is a great story.

In Seabrook, North Carolina in the 1940s, teenaged debutante Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) and local boy Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) spend one passionate, carefree summer together and fall deeply in love. But when the summer ends, war and duty separate the young couple.

Today, an elderly man (James Garner) visits a nursing home to read from his notebook to a woman (Gena Rowlands) whose memory is fading. As he spins a tale of two young lovers with their whole lives before them, his beloved Allie relives a long-ago passion that has never died, an unbreakable bond between two ordinary people rendered extraordinary by the strength, power and beauty of true love.

Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, author of A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle.

Watch the trailer here.

Why We Love The Notebook

This classic puts you on an emotional rollercoaster, the rain scene alone will have you sobbing, let alone the poignant ending to pull on your heartstrings – you’re guaranteed to need a packet of tissues for this one.

Part of the 2000s romance movie alumni, appearing in other iconic films from the genre such as The Time Traveller’s Wife and Wedding Crashers for McAdams and Crazy, Stupid Love for Gosling, these two are used to the romantic spotlight and the duo’s chemistry is undeniable here.

A love triangle, a miscommunication trope, a dramatic confession scene and a surprise ending; what more could you want from a romance film?

Revisit your favourite scenes here and watch the 10 Minute Preview here.

The Lake House (2006)

What is the plot of The Lake House?

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reunite to star in this romantic tale of two people who find a love strong enough to span the years separating the couple living in The Lake House. As lonely Dr. Kate Forster (Bullock) exchanges letters with architect Alex Wyler (Reeves), a correspondence grows into love, but the two realise that they are living in the same house two years apart. To be together, they must unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance - knowing that their quest may destroy the link that has allowed them to fall in love.

Why We Love The Lake House

This film takes great care in handling themes of loneliness, as both protagonists undergo difficult transitions in their lives their connection becomes even more potent. As much as they are determined, you too will be just as committed for the pair to meet against all odds.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are both actors with incredible range, but we love it when they turn their hand to romance - with memorable roles in Sweet November and My Own Private Idaho for Reeves and Two Weeks’ Notice and Practical Magic for Bullock. It’s no surprise then that the pair so naturally bring the vulnerability and warmth that this story requires.

What is similar about The Notebook and The Lake House?

These films share a lot, with love stories strengthened and weakened through letters, lovers torn apart and united against all odds, unexpected endings, and even matching iconic lake houses in idyllic settings.

Starring 2000s movie icons (and romance movie icons) from Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams to Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, both films exude a beloved 2000s nostalgia, with The Lake House doubling this as its set in the iconic era too.

These films will send you on an emotional rollercoaster but are simultaneously guaranteed to become instant comfort watches.

What is different about The Notebook and The Lake House?

The love stories differ in their time settings, with The Notebook taking place in 1940s rural South California whereas The Lake House is set in modern-day (early 2000s) Chicago. The Lake House too has its supernatural elements of time travel, separating the lovers across time, however for The Notebook the conflict is more grounded in the era’s zeitgeist of war and class differences tearing the couple apart.

Both romance are based on previous materials however The Notebook is an adaptation of the book by author Nicholas Sparks (1996) whereas The Lake House is based on the Korean film, Il Mare (2000).

Thematically, whilst each film shares a lot, they also maintain their own unique identities where The Notebook explores themes of class differences, memory, and enduring love and The Lake House navigates themes of time, loneliness, destiny and patience. For the former, love transcends social boundaries, and for latter, love transcends physical (temporal) boundaries.

Ready for an emotional rollercoaster? Then gather your loved ones and watch The Notebook and The Lake House this Valentine’s.