Netflix U.K. Changed the Ending of ‘The Notebook’ and Fans Are Upset

Fans looking for a good cry on Netflix may have been disappointed if they live in the U.K. Viewers of the streaming service in that country found that The Notebook ending had been altered, depriving them of the waterworks that the film was known for. And fans were not happy.

Hollywood has been known to change a tragic ending into a happy one, but for a streaming service to alter an ending to a movie that has been out for years? That’s odd, and more than a little questionable. According to The Sun, viewers of The Notebook in the past two months have noticed that the ending on their screens was different than the one shown in theaters and on DVD.

The Notebook tells the torrid love story of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), two people from wildly different backgrounds who fall in love in 1940s America. Though they at first embark on a whirlwind romance, Allie’s privileged family and Noah’s humble beginnings pull them apart. But after years of separation, they finally reunite and grow old together, only for tragedy to strike later in life — with the revelation that the old people reading their story are Allie and Noah after Allie’s memory has fallen to dementia. The pair pass away together after she remembers their love story, ending the film on a tragic note.

However, The Sun reports that Netflix’s U.K. version ends with the pair holding hands while birds flying over the lake, playing the closing credits before the pair pass away together. The scene in question is in the original film, but only shown after Allie and Noah’s bodies are discovered. Fans were not happy.

If you want to watch The Notebook on @NetflixUK, don’t. They cut the ending. #thenotebook #netflix #itsthereasonyouwatchthenotebook #ffs pic.twitter.com/PPZQQaOv7R

— Sophie Ashwood (@sophieashwood) January 13, 2019

why did netflix change the ending of the notebook the best part of watching it is having your heart break at the end ?

— katie (@katiesullivaan) January 14, 2019

Netflix has aired altered versions of TV shows before, with sitcoms like Friends getting scenes cut or mid-credits scenes skipped. But changing movie endings seems like something that is outside of the realm of Netflix’s power. A censored version of a film could be possible, sure, but changing a film for creative reasons is strange.

Author Nicholas Sparks weighed in on the controversial choice recently on The Today Show, but also refers to it as “above my paygrade.” “This is above my intelligence,” he said.

“For me, it’s an opinion thing,” he added. “Hey, it’s a different ending; you’re definitely going to have an opinion on it one way or the other.”

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