The Note

A good-feel of a Christmastime movie. Took me back to when it was ok to put heart-warming messages in films. And the fact that it dealt with a newspaper reporter was a big win for me. Genie Francis played her role with graciousness. Yeah-maybe it was a tad far-fetched that such a miracle like the one she had could really happen. But I like to be won over with happy endings in this era of divisive thinking on a large scale. The parts of the preacher and the songwriter were great, and the bad -guy TV reporter was believably smarmy. People constantly being on cell phones did not dominate this film (yay for 2007!). I am glad I found it on Amazon Prime for a trip back to a less toxic time in our country.

The storyline had so much potential. This could have been a blockbuster movie but in the end, your left feeling it was made for TV and was on a tight production schedule. I teared up a couple times but way too often I was left disappointed by the character development or dialogue. Many of the situations were not believable or lacked the gravity of the moment. Many elements just happened for the sake of continuity but seemed forced and kept me from being drawn into the movie. So many instances that were highly emotional and the actors were not reflecting a convincible or honest level of emotion. Good but not great. I can't recommend it.

The search for the owner of the note by a newspaper columnist, that is believed to have come from and airplane crash touches the lives of all who read. The journey to search out the intended recipient has many little turns that keep your interest. Perhaps the biggest changes take place with the reporter. There is also a little conflict as a national television news reporter is trying to steal the story. There is additional personal conflict in the life of the columnist that comes to light as the movie progresses. The many elements come together to create a heartwarming film. I rated it at a nine rather than a ten, just because there were a few moments where the acting didn't seem quite on, and there were a few small elements out of place, but on the whole they distracted little from the overall story. This tale of loss, broken families, past mistakes, and most importantly forgiveness and love, definitely deserves a place in your viewing schedule.

I rate this a "7" if you're watching this on a DVR (digital video recorder) and a "6" if not. Basically, this story starts out good, gets cheesy in the middle and is way overdone at the end. If you're armed with the ability to skip through some highly predictable corny stuff in the middle, it's kind of interesting to watch. A saving grace of the movie is that there's a great twist at the end.

Basically, the movie is about a journalist who's about to lose her column "The Heart Healer" due to low readership. While pondering her situation at the ocean, she happens upon a washed up note from a plane that just crashed nearby. She begins to write about her search for the intended recipient and the movie progresses from there.

While it sounds good on the surface, it gets a little cheesy when everyone she meets is somehow "touched" and for the most part "reformed" by the note. For a lot of people, this middle section can be a bit too sappy.

Still, the movie is not "so" bad that I would say it's not worth watching. If you have a DVR, you can spare yourself from some of the scenes by fast-forwarding - and enjoy the overall story line. If not, I'd say it's a bit too hard to sit through without changing the channel.

This movie had several hidden meanings the some people will miss.... Overall I enjoyed the movie and would highly recommend it to anyone that loves a story with a good ending. No matter how insignificant we feel we are, we are all inextricably linked to each other and play an important part in the fabric of one another's lives.

No violence ... Just wholesome clean enjoyment! I wish all movies could be this good! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. These are the types of movies I grew up watching.

Be sure to watch "The Note II".

This movie carries the typical high qualities of the HALLMARK movies! My hat is off to the Hallmark Movie folks! Thanks Hallmark!