Film Review

08 January 2009 22:07 BST

Nights in Rodanthe

Directed by George C Wolfe, out October 10th in cinemas, starring Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis, running time 97 mins.

In a nutshell...

Soppy, soulful - made for the over 40s

What's it all about?

When Adrienne's (Lane) attempt to rebuild her life without her cheating husband is knocked off kilter by the revelation that he wants a second chance, the opportunity to take the reins of her friend Jean's (Davis) seaside inn and spend some quality time with her thoughts is too good to miss.

But when a major storm closes in and leaves Adrienne sharing the inn with its only guest, frosty doctor Paul (Gere) - facing his own crisis of conscience - two lost souls find themselves bound into a life-altering romance.


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Who's in it?

Richard Gere won a Golden Globe for his performance as smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn in Rob Marshall's Chicago (2002) as well as charming the pants off female audience members in the likes of An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman and Unfaithful, his second collaboration with Diane Lane.

She won SAG, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her role as the adulterous wife in that picture, and has turned in memorable performances in the likes of Hollywoodland, The Perfect Storm, Chaplin, and Untraceable.

Acclaimed theatre director George C Wolfe makes his feature film debut with Nights in Rodanthe having won Tony awards for the Broadway run of Angels in America and as producer of the Joseph Papp Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival.

As an example...

"After you left I felt like I was waking up from a dream… " - Adrienne

"It's so beautiful here. But nothing can compare to the peaks and troughs I traced along your body." - Paul

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars

Critical acclaim is unlikely to be forthcoming in any shape or form, but with the film having made camp in the US box office top five for weeks, expect the same on these shores, before it takes up residency on thousands of DVD shelves.

What the others say

"Nights in Rodanthe is typical Nicholas Sparks fare that has been turned into a tasteful melodrama courtesy of the easy chemistry between its two leads and a generally restrained touch from Tony-winning director George C Wolfe in his feature debut." - Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

"The movie attempts to jerk tears with one clunky device after another, in a plot that is a perfect storm of cliche and contrivance." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

So is it any good?

From the jittery home video opening - a trick quickly becoming a very tired way of illustrating 'a happy family' - to the damn squib of a climax, this is a film that will wash harmlessly over any viewer under 30 but earn a place in the heart of divorcees in their 40s, probably being screened at support group meetings.

Throughout its box-ticking duration - wiseass best friend? Check. Bastard of an ex-husband? Check. Conveniently heavy storm? Check - it feels as if Nicolas Sparks' source novel was written for the mothers of teenage girls addicted to The Notebook, so blatant is its 'don't give up the dream of a great love affair' message.

As if the 'seaside inn + two lost souls + storm = romance' premise wasn't contrived enough, screenwriters Ann Peacock and John Romano go on to add some inexplicable character arcs, and though we're supposed to follow the 'head vs heart' line of thinking, you'll do well to stifle a giggle at the laughable script (see above).

Gere, to his credit, turns in a powder-keg performance in a formulaic role but many of Lane's lines are said with an oddly detached lack of conviction that makes them frequently corny. To be fair to both, the sexual tension sizzles but you're too often left screaming at their characters for their melodramatic tendencies, rather than being swept up in the romance of it all.

Scott Glenn features in a country yokel role for which he is far too good an actor and James Franco's bizarrely brief cameo could have been taken by any actor in his 20s and feels as if it's been crowbarred in to provide some youthful eye-candy for those aforementioned Notebook devotees who've been dragged to the cinema with their mothers.

And as for Davis as Adrienne's ludicrously caricature of a friend Jean - who says "uh-huh" and "he's fiiiine!" on an infuriatingly regular basis - you can only ask: don't black actresses get offended by these roles?

It's a film that wears it soppy heart on its sleeve and though it's never aiming for high art, it's difficult not to irritated by a risible shift in tone clearly intended to make viewers think 'look how passionate they are!' while Wolfe's handling of the storm itself - shot something like a horror film - is a mistake of epic proportions.

The course of true love never did run smooth, of course, so you're unlikely to be surprised by any of the plot's twists and turns, but if you're not part of the target audience, you'll have already left the cinema. If you're in that demographic, on the other hand, you'll probably be too teary to care.

4/10

Lewis Bazley

"I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's a pure and simple love story that is poignant and involving. Diane Lane was fabulous in the lead role. A very talented lady. I recommend the film." - Naomi Elliott

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