Review: Beautiful, Formulaic 'Rodanthe'

Richard Gere and Diane Lane reunite once again (they starred opposite each other in 1984's The Cotton Club and in 2002's Unfaithful) in Nights in Rodanthe, adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel.

In the movie, both of their characters are in the process of moving on from bad marriages while struggling to maintain a good relationship with their children. As fate would have it, they find love in an oceanfront bed and breakfast in North Carolina's Outer Banks as a hurricane looms. After the storm, Gere's doctor proceeds to visit his son and Lane goes back to her life as a single mother. They keep in touch for a time while making plans to spend their lives together.



Gere and Lane have a believable chemistry together and they carry the movie well. However, it's the scenery that one may remember most about the film, from the exquisite Southern interiors of the bed and breakfast to the picturesque beachscapes surrounding it. Indeed, the movie is a visual treat of Carolina charm that, along with the romance aspect, could almost make it pass for a modern-day Gone With The Wind. No doubt the Rodanthe tourism industry has since spiked.

If you're familiar with other works by Nicholas Sparks, then you'll see his general formula repeated here as well, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. His previous movie adaptations (such as Message in a Bottle, A Walk To Remember, and The Notebook), like the books they're based on, have all been memorable. In and of itself, Nights in Rodanthe is a well-told love story that both men and women would enjoy, thus making it an ideal date movie.

If you plan on seeing it, go prepared: