Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12, OCTOBER 6, 2008, THE ISLANDER
“Goin* to
the Show...
♦♦
with...
Roland
Willis
NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
Starring: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Scott Glenn,
Mae Whitman, Viola Davis & James Franco
Directed by George Wolfe
Written by Ann Peacock & John Romano
Based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks
Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Rated PG-13 - Sexual innuendo
I like the word synergism as applied
to movie actors. This simply means
that when two actors are together,
their performance is better than the
sum of their individual performances
in previous movies; that is, They have
great chemistry together.’
For example, Richard Gere and
Debra Winger were wonderful togeth
er in An Officer and a Gentleman,
and Richard Gere and Jodie Foster
definitely had a hot romance going in
Sommersby.
Gere’s performance in these was
much better than his roles in Pretty
Woman and Dr. T and the Women.
Likewise, Diane Lane and Viggo
Mortensen ignited the screen in A
Walk on the Moon. While she was cute
and lovable in Under the Tuscan Sun,
this performance was pretty average.
I thought that Gere and Lane were
also good together in Unfaithful, but
this was not a love story, rather a tale
of infidelity and murder.
So now Gere and Lane are together
in a bona fide romance and, unfortu
nately, they are not that great togeth
er. In fact, the preview for Nights in
Rodanthe was better than the actual
movie.
Maybe it is because this is clearly
a low budget movie designed to pull
people into the theatres using the star
power of Gere and Lane.
Rodanthe is a real place. It is part
of the community of Chicamacomico on
Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks;
the north easternmost part of North
Carolina.
The movie was shot on location in
that area and features a rental house,
Serendipity, which was turned into the
fictional Inn at Rodanthe following the
novel by Nicholas Sparks.
Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) used
to vacation there as a child and the
house brings back tender memories of
her late father. She lives close by, pos
sibly in Wilmington, with her young
son, Danny, and her teenage daughter,
Amanda (Mae Whitman).
Her husband, Jack, played by Chris
topher Meloni known mainly for his
long-term sojourn in Law and Order:
Special Victims Unit.
Jack was discovered cheating with
Adrienne’s best friend and was kicked
out about 11 months previous to the
action.
The marriage is over as far as Adri
enne is concerned but Jack wants to be
forgiven and move back in to be with
his family.
Amanda can’t understand why her
mother will not bend to his wishes and
has turned from being rebellious, a nor
mal teenage trait, to being a screaming
rebel.
Anyway, as the movie opens Jack is
taking the kids for a few days allowing
Adrienne to stay at the Inn.
The Inn is owned by her close friend,
Jean played by Viola Davis also of Law
and Order fame. The house has been in
Jean’s family for generations and she
runs a bed and breakfast there.
It is off-season and Jean takes the
opportunity to visit her boyfriend and
leaves the place in Adrienne’s hands.
Only one guest, Dr. Paul Flanner
(Richard Gere), has made a reserva
tion. This is where the story gets a little
silly. Turns out that Paul lost a patient
in a routine operation through no fault
of his own... allergic reaction to the
anesthetic.
Don’t they test for this?
Anyway, he is being sued by a local,
Robert Torrelson (Scott Glenn), the
husband of the deceased, and Paul
has made the journey to Rodanthe to
explain what happened.
This is preposterous. There is no
doctor who would jeopardize himself
and career during a lawsuit by visiting
the plaintiff.
Paul is also disgruntled since he
has fallen out with his only son, Mark
played in a cameo role by James Fran
co who was the star in a truly romantic
movie, Tristan and Isolde.
So we have two eligible but unhappy
people thrust together in the Inn on an
isolated beach!
Then a hurricane hits and they are
literately blown together.
The water rises above the stilts and
reaches just below the house. Both of
their cars under the house are sub
merged in sea water and yet are func
tioning the next day when the water
retreats. I’m not a car mechanic but
I think that bad things happen when
your car is submerged in sea water. I
hate this sloppy inattention to detail.
The tear-jerking ending is complete
ly contrived.
Don’t waste your money! My rating
is D. □
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