Synopsis: A fateful meeting one weekend in Rodanthe finds two people whose lives are in turmoil connect and discover a new lease on life and love.
Release Date: September 26, 2008 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Film Review
Production
The movie is not the best romance you could watch, or melodrama, but it does have it moments. You will laugh at times, and cry at others, but you will also find yourself bored and twiddling your thumbs. It just does not have enough drama, or romance, to sustain a viewer for the entire length of the film.
Acting
Throughout the entire film Diane Lane, as Adrienne, shows a great range of emotions and conflict. You feel her uncertainty with the decisions she has made and the ones she must make in the near future. Her character is portrayed as a complex woman who is unsure of herself but who still believes that something more is possible. Richard Gere, as Dr. Paul Flanner falls completely flat. For the greater part of the film it is unbelievable that he really feels anything at all. He is cold and unflinching for most of the duration, never really showing vulnerability. Even his voiceover work with the letters is lacking. He may as well be reading a medical handbook for there is no real emotion in his words, he is just going through the motions.
Score and Soundtrack
If you have a penchant for blues, real blues, this film’s soundtrack will delight.
Directing
The film has a very high melodramatic tone. The problem is that the direction of the movie is non-existent. There seems to be no fluidity to the movement of the story or real direction with the actors. The melodrama is lost on most of the movie because of this and it is not until the ending that you actually feel anything, and that is mostly in part to the subject matter, not the actual plot. A firmer hand with the actors, and the direction of the story, would have been beneficial.
Chemistry
The two main characters, Adrienne and Paul, show moderate chemistry together. It is somewhat believable that these two people desire each other and feel something more than a mere fleeting of emotions. There is only one scene where you really see them connect, while in the kitchen making a mess of the can goods. It is a very simple scene but one where you witness two people who are hurting, in different ways, come together and connect to each other giving hope to love blossoming.
Sound
During the storm the sound mixing is exceptional. All of the sounds the storm makes, from the wind, and the gushing air, to the ambient noises and the waves are fluidly mixed together to give a flawless depiction of a torrential storm on the shoreline. Even the dialogue of the scene is comprehensible and not drawn out by the sound effects. When the actual hurricane hits you not only hear the rumbling of sounds but you feel them; it is unnerving and scary. The shaking of the old house and the howls of the wind are all achieved with mastery to portray this storm and its power.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): George C. Wolfe
- Producer(s): Ann PeacockJohn RomanoDiane Lane (Adrienne Willis)
- Screenwriter(s): Richard Gere (Dr. Paul Flanner)Christopher Meloni (Jack Willis)Viola Davis (Jean)
- Story: Becky Ann Baker (Dot)
- Cast: James Franco (Mark Flanner) Brian A. KatesAlfonso BeatoPatrizia von Brandenstein
- Editor(s): Lisa Mae Fincannon
- Cinematographer:
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer: Available on Varése Sarabande
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: USA
