Gena Rowlands and the Great 'Notebook' Debate

Social media had some feelings about what film Rowlands should be synonymous with

Actress Gena Rowlands passed away August 14th at the age of 94. The star of stage and screen left behind an amazing body of work that, if you’ve been on social media the last week, nearly everyone has celebrated. Though it was Rowlands work with husband John Cassavetes that tended to dominate the conversation online. But if you read several of the obits written in the wake of Rowlands passing they tended to cite one movie: her role as the elderly Ali in her son, Nick Cassavetes, 2004 romantic drama The Notebook. People online had….opinions.

(Still kinda shocked that Carrie Coon entered the chat here and considered this moment a loss of our collective dignity.)

The journalist in me went to the immediate response to this: blame SEO. Too often sites today are required to cater to SEO algorithms that cater to what people search for. If you look at the IMDb listing for Rowlands the first movie it cites her as “known for” is The Notebook. So, bare minimum, we have to acknowledge how SEO and the need to chase clicks leave journalists trying to go for the movie they think people will click on. They’re trying to reach Netflix lovers, not Criterion Channel subscribers. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s how the system works. But in looking at the anger deeper I realized it’s part of a conversation I have all the time when talking about Old Hollywood and classic movies.

I’m a Millennial. I remember seeing The Notebook when it came out, long before I knew who Gena Rowlands was, or James Garner for that matter. I didn’t know she had a massive career before making this movie. I just knew I enjoyed The Notebook and that Rowlands was amazing in it. Like it or not, for a generation of teens, The Notebook was a gateway film for them to discover Rowlands. And, considering the movie’s ubiquity on TikTok, as well as it continuing to be listed as one of the most romantic movies ever made, Gen Z has caught onto it as well. The algorithm and journalists are going to go with low-hanging fruit when summing up Rowlands career, but to a large portion of people online, you can’t say the movie isn’t a popular choice. Note I said popular, not best.

Everyone has their own definition of what separates a movie from a classic movie. And, like it or not, The Notebook has entered the pantheon of classic films. Timeline-wise, it more than fits. Sorry, but the movie turned 20 years old this year! But, more importantly, if we’re defining a classic by impact…The Notebook also still fits. It made nearly $120 million off a $29 million dollar budget in 2004, and had impressive legs throughout the year. And the finale scene of Rowlands and James Garner routinely pops up on TikTok and Facebook timelines as one of the most tearjerking moments in film history.

Did Rowlands make better movies? Of course! But it’s odd that The Notebook is being considered a horrific film choice, like boiling down Adam Sandler’s career to Jack & Jill or something. Hell, we want to talk about another Gena Rowlands movie I unabashedly love, how about the film she made the year after The Notebook? The 2005 film Skeleton Key. Is it a great film? God, no. But to a burgeoning cinephile the fact that Rowlands had been in The Notebook intrigued me. And, let’s be real, at least her career wasn’t condensed down to just that movie.

But what kind of gets my goat is the elitism that, unfortunately, tends to accompany classic films and those who promote them. If you aren’t talking about the “right” classic films then your opinion isn’t considered valid. The Notebook, like it or not, no doubt inspired people to check out A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria or Faces. It’s not something to complain about but to celebrate. Gena Rowlands made a huge amount of fantastic, iconic films and one that, for SEO purposes journalists knew people would click on, is The Notebook. But to say The Notebook isn’t worth considering as part of her oeuvre is just ridiculous. If it gets a 20something to watch a movie from the 1970s, we should be celebrating it right now, particularly as classic films, pre-1980, become so hard to find in the streaming era.

This is all to say, go subscribe to the Criterion Channel and watch all the movies in their new Gena Rowlands series. So you can say you love The Notebook AND something else! (But, seriously, where’s my Skeleton Key hive at?)

What do you consider Gena Rowlands’ best work? Were you up in arms over The Notebook being referenced? Leave a comment or join the chat (and subscribe)!