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In order to stir her Alzheimer's-ravaged memory, Duke (Garner) reads a story to his lifelong partner Allie (Rowlands). Through flashbacks we watch the young Southern debutante Allie (McAdams) wooed by the terribly unsuitable but extremely charming Noah (Gosling), but the two are torn apart by class differences and the outbreak of World War II. Six years later, Allie's in love with the eligible Lon (Marsden) when she runs into Noah. So the main question is this: Which one is Duke--Noah or Lon?

All credit to Cassavetes and Leven that they actually keep us guessing. The plot has more sensitivity than most girly films--realistic characters we can actually believe in and root for. While the sentimentality is pretty oppressive, Cassavetes leaves enough space for the cast members to shine in unhurried, beautifully orchestrated scenes. Gosling and McAdams are constantly surprising, mostly because we've never seen either do anything like this--both are cheeky, earthy and very likeable. And the wonderful Garner and Rowlands light up the screen with rich, complex chemistry. Meanwhile, Marsden and Brown stand out in a small roles that are powerfully well-played, Shepard is superb as Noah's scruffy father and Allen really shines as Allie's steely mother.

But it's all extremely yucky, really. The wistful sweetness is out of control, and Cassavetes shies away from any real grit--the characters' rebellion is superficial, the war scenes are sanitised, sex is simplistic, make-up and costumes are far too perfect (McAdams' skirts seem insanely short for 1940!). The whole city/college girl versus country/working boy thing is stretched to within an inch of credibility. And the story's structure feels badly contrived to push every sappy button right on cue. On the other hand, sometimes a good bit of escapist crying can be good for the soul.