Amy Adler
Adrienne (Diane Lane) has spent the last few months separated from her husband of many years. Its his fault, cheating hubby Jack (Christopher Meloni) ran off with another woman. Now, when he arrives to take the two children, teen daughter (Mae Whitman) and tween son, he makes a pitch for Adrienne to reconcile. Whoa. Evidently, grass was not greener in other pastures and A, who has just been getting back on her feet, is thrown asunder. Begging for time to consider her feelings, Adrienne goes off to Rodanthe, a small town in the Outer Banks, to take charge of a pal's (Viola Davis) B & B for a week. This pal urges A NOT to go back to her cheating ex while thanking her for giving her some much needed time off. There is only one guest booked for the time being, as bad weather may be approaching. This man, Dr. Paul (Richard Gere) arrives quietly and doesn't say much as he spends his first night. But, aha, he is a looker! The next day, he opens up a bit at dinner and Adrienne does the same. But, the truth comes out. The doctor, a well-respected surgeon, had a patient from Rodanthe die on the operating table, due to a reaction to the anesthesia. So, even though it was not the doc's fault, he is in town to try to explain matters to the deceased woman's bitter husband (Scott Glenn). A first meeting does not go well and there IS a mild hurricane approaching. Scared and lonely, Paul and Adrienne reach out to each other after they have batted down the hatches. They spend one lovely night together. But, the timing is not right, as A is still confused and P has some unfinished business with his physician son as well. Will there be a future after a Night in Rodanthe? This sweet romantic drama will be loved by fans everywhere. It has great, attractive stars in Gere and Lane, with Davis, Meloni, Glenn, Whitman, and James Franco supporting them nicely. The story is a heart grabber with a twist at the end, making for a flood of tears for most viewers. The direction is surefooted while costumes and amenities are wonderful, too, especially Lane's great haircut. Finally, the scenery is breathtaking, making film watchers want to plan their next vacays at the Outer Banks, for certain. Therefore, if you like the summary provided by this critic, go get Rodanthe for your own night of sighs and tears.
moonspinner55
A one-dimensional weeper. Adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel casts Diane Lane as a wife and mother who retreats to her friend's empty bed-and-breakfast on the coast of North Carolina after her husband has an extra-marital affair; soon after, she meets Richard Gere, a troubled doctor who has recently lost one of his patients and is facing a malpractice lawsuit. Despite these attractive players, reunited from "The Cotton Club" and "Unfaithful", there's not a single convincing moment to be found--even the stormy-romantic locale seems plastic, a computer-generated confection. The narrative has been engineered to give Lane in particular a real emotional workout: she shouts, she worries, she cries, she laughs, she gets tipsy, she dances with carefree abandon. By the time the plot mechanisms kick in, audiences have had their fill of her. As a result, the finale--weighty with tragedy--doesn't carry much resonance. ** from ****
kevroc1
This movie made absolutely no sense! Do not waste your precious time watching it. The best parts of the movie were the scenery and the music...everything else was terrible. It was slow and boring and there was no real rhyme or reason for Gere and Lane falling in love. Two people in their circumstances would be guarded and the last thing that would be on their mind is falling in love. it's one thing for two people at that age and that part in their lives to see a spark but to fall deeply in love and change their whole life outlook is insanely unbelievable. It would have made much more sense if they slept with each other to relieve some stress and went on their way!!! Nothing was believable about this movie plus it was extremely booorrringg!!!!!
rbrb
For most of this film the 2 leads are full of self pity for themselves. He is a surgeon with issues, one involving a operation which went wrong and another concerning his estranged son; she, a mother of 2 possibly problem kids in a marriage on the rocks. Then again, they both appear to be healthy rich individuals, so why so much depression?! Why do we have to sit through what is basically a couple of not particularly likable characters meeting and "falling in love", when both of them have so much emotional and other baggage,it would fill up a large left luggage office several times over! Within the entanglement of this tale there is a decent moral lesson,and for that I can give it above the minimum vote. However that morality tale is more or less lost in the soap opera misery of the self indulgence of this manic depression of a movie:3/10
