Nights in Rodanthe

Nights in Rodanthe
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George C. Wolfe
Produced by	Denise Di Novi
Written by	Novel Nicholas Sparks Screenplay Ann Peacock John Romano
Starring	Richard Gere Diane Lane
Music by	Jeanine Tesori
Cinematography	Alfonso Beato
Editing by	Brian A. Kates
Studio	Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	September 26, 2008
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States Australia
Language	English Spanish
Box office	$84,375,061 [1]

Nights in Rodanthe (pronounced Roe-DANTH-ee^[2]) is a 2008 American/Australian film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after Unfaithful (2002) and The Cotton Club (1984). The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "some sensuality" and was released on September 26, 2008. It was filmed in the small seaside village of Rodanthe, the northernmost village of the inhabited areas of Hatteras Island as well as North Topsail Beach, North Carolina. The film's soundtrack features "Love Remains the Same", a song written by Gavin Rossdale for his 2008 debut solo album, despite the fact that it does not appear in the film.

Plot

While picking up his son and daughter for a weekend visit, Jack (Christopher Meloni) tells his estranged wife Adrienne (Diane Lane) that he wants to move back home. Adrienne says she needs time and space to think. It is made clear that Jack left his family for another woman.

Adrienne drives to Rodanthe, North Carolina to a friend's bed-and-breakfast for the weekend. The house is rustic, romantic and right on the beach and partially in the surf at high tide.

There is only one guest for the weekend, Paul (Richard Gere), a surgeon who arrives at the inn with his own emotional baggage. He has flashbacks of a surgery which ended tragically. The family of the patient, who live in Rodanthe, is suing him.

A storm moves in and the two team up to protect the inn. They dine together, share stories and eventually turn to each other for emotional comfort. A genuine romance is born. With Adrienne’s advice and moral support, Paul opens up to the patient’s widower and in doing so faces his own pain.

Paul very reluctantly leaves Adrienne and Rodanthe to fly to South America, where his estranged son Mark (James Franco) lives, to reconcile with him. Paul carries guilt for passing up a relationship with his son in favor of his career. He helps him practice medicine and take care of the natives there.

During their separation Adrienne and Paul exchange numerous handwritten letters expressing their longing to be with each other once again. Unfortunately, Paul is killed in a flash mudslide before he is able to be with her again. Mark arrives at Adrienne's door with the tragic news, a box of Paul's personal belongings and gratitude to Adrienne for giving him back his father.

Adrienne ultimately is left all alone with her nearly unbearable grief. There is nobody else available to offer her solace and comfort.

She finally is granted a respite from her heart-rending sadness when, during a solitary sojourn along the beach on a strikingly beautiful day, she looks up to see a small herd of magnificent wild horses go thundering on by her.

The house in Rodanthe, North Carolina used in the movie.

Cast

• Diane Lane as Adrienne Willis
• Richard Gere as Dr. Paul Flanner
• James Franco as Dr. Mark Flanner
• Scott Glenn as Robert Torrelson
• Christopher Meloni as Jack Willis
• Viola Davis as Jean
• Pablo Schreiber as Charlie Torrelson
• Mae Whitman as Amanda Willis
• Charlie Tahan as Danny Willis

Critical reception and box office

The film opened at #2 at the North American Box office making $13,418,454 in its opening weekend behind Eagle Eye. According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus holds that the film is "derivative and schmaltzy" and "strongly mottled by contrivances that even the charisma of stars Diane Lane and Richard Gere can't repair". The site rates the movie as "rotten", with a score of 29% based on 106 reviews.^[3] Metacritic scored the film as 39/100, with "generally negative reviews", based on 26 reviews.^[4] Although the movie was critically panned, it grossed $84,375,061 worldwide.^[5]

The Times of London included Nights in Rodanthe on its 100 Worst Films of 2008 list.^[6]

References

1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nightsinrodanthe.htm
2. ^ http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070521/NEWS/705210319/1051/NEWS
3. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nights_in_rodanthe
4. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/nightsinrodanthe
5. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nightsinrodanthe.htm
6. ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5245052.ece?token=null&offset=24&page=3

External links

• Official site
• Nights in Rodanthe at the Internet Movie Database
• Nights in Rodanthe at AllRovi
• Nights in Rodanthe at Box Office Mojo
• Nights in Rodanthe at Rotten Tomatoes