Suddenly, Noah’s relentless pursuit of Allie, first on the Ferris wheel , and then, in the middle of the street , doesn’t seem so charming. It smacks of a kind of entitled and outdated toxic masculinity that teaches young men not to take no for an answer — after all, it’s romantic to be chased! Look how well it turned out for them! Likewise, the film’s near-erasure of people of color, despite its Deep South setting, is troubling, especially because it’s consistent with a pattern that courses through Sparks’ entire literary oeuvre, as well as the many films based on his books. Too many of his stories are paternalistic, moralistic paeans to white heteronormativity. What do we really know about Allie as a person, aside from her attraction to Noah, desire to attend Sarah Lawrence, and the fact that she loves to paint? She’s spunky, sure, but only within the acceptable boundaries of white, upper middle class womahood. It’s lucky, really, that McAdams’ strong performance inflates an otherwise flat character.