Film File - Nights In Rodanthe

Richard Gere and Diane Lane"s last outing on screen was 'Unfaithful", a hard-edged portrait of deception and regret that gave both actors a chance to test their skills beyond their trademark good looks. This time, they reunite in a romantic drama based on the Nicholas Sparks best-selling novel about two people who discover there is always a second chance to find the love of your life. Adrienne (Lane), a woman still reeling from her husband"s betrayal and struggling to rebuild a life without him, has just learned that he wants to come home. Torn by conflicting feelings, she welcomes the chance for escape when an old friend asks her to manage her inn in Rodanthe for a weekend. There, on a remote spot along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Adrienne hopes to find the tranquility she needs to rethink her life. It"s the off-season and the inn would be shuttered but for the unlikely arrival of its solitary guest, Paul (Gere), a doctor from the city. A man who long ago sacrificed his family to his career, he has come to Rodanthe to fulfil a difficult obligation and to face his own crisis of conscience. They are two strangers sharing the same roof. But, as a major storm closes in, they turn to each other for comfort, and set in motion a life-changing romance that will resonate through the rest of their lives. The advertising banners describe it as a story 'about people discovering an Act Two in their lives," and is directed by George C Wolfe, a stage director with two Tony Awards to his credit, making his feature film directorial debut. Gere, still managing to make grey look sexy, says the film is a love story for adults, a story where circumstances and dynamics evolve to offer two individuals something they never expected and had given up hoping for. Sparks, the best-selling author of bestsellers like 'The Notebook", 'Message in a Bottle" and 'A Walk to Remember", describes 'Nights in Rodanthe" as a return to his origins as a storyteller. 'It"s one of the most intrinsically romantic novels I"ve ever done' - a message that will surely please adult couples still yearning after another 'Terms Of Endearment" to sob into their handkerchiefs on a midweek night out. It has a storm, an isolated beach and a wounded couple who come together, plus a whole range of human emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, passion, impatience and patience. In the true weepie tradition, 'Nights In Rodanthe" scores well on the tear-o-meter with Gere and Lane making a generally believable couple slowly coming to realise there might be something deeper than instant attraction going on here. With the languid magnetism that worked so well for Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in 'The Bridges Of Madison County", this coupling on a deserted beach makes for an arresting and diverting two hours of entertainment. While both actors still carry that peculiar chemistry that worked to such effect in 'Unfaithful", it is Lane as the woman rediscovering her power of attraction that makes the plot hum with a sensual purr. Compared to the bland competition in good movie love stories out there, 'Nights In Rodanthe" stands out as a great early winter gem - something to make you hug your partner against the darkening chill of October.