Weepy, timeless love stories are what Nicholas Sparks does best, and the screen adaptation of his novel Nights in Rodanthe lives up to the writer's literary stylings. Rodanthe centers on Paul Flanner (Richard Gere) and Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane), two lost souls suffering from midlife crises who get a second chance at love. The duo have costarred before - in the far less innocent Unfaithful - and practice has clearly made perfect: they shine as Rodanthe's stars. Gere has turned playing an emotionally-tortured baby boomer into an art form, and Lane, like always, is effervescently charming. They make a gorgeous pair, and one can't help but sigh at their combined cuteness.
Rodanthe is aware of its sappiness and takes full advantage of clichés, playing to a romantic's idealized vision of true love. Gere and Lane share candlelit dinners, tasteful love scenes and long walks on the beach. Still, the film never fully veers off into fantasy. Although the fairytale bent of the movie forms its core, tragedy is an ever-present foil to happily-ever-after.
Rodanthe, cleverly capitalizing on an audience that greedily inhaled Sex and the City and Mamma Mia!, caters primarily to older female viewers, but its classic romance makes it a must-see for any sentimental moviegoer.
