''Nights in Rodanthe'' is a 2008 American romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

. It is an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

Nicholas Sparks Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty-three novels and two non-fiction books, some of which have been ''New York Times'' bestsellers, with over 115 m ...

' 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

and

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film '' A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to st ...

in their third screen collaboration after '' The Cotton Club'' (1984) and '' Unfaithful'' (2002). It was filmed in the small seaside village of Rodanthe, the northernmost village of the inhabited areas of

Hatteras Island Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carol ...

as well as

North Topsail Beach, North Carolina North Topsail Beach is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 population was 743. It is located on Topsail Island. North Topsail Beach is part of the Jacksonville, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histor ...

Plot

Adrienne Willis is in the process of getting a divorce from her husband Jack after he left her for another woman. Their separation has caused a rift between her and their rebellious teenage daughter, Amanda. One morning, when picking up Amanda and their son Danny for a weekend visit, Jack tells Adrienne he still loves her and wants to move back home. She tells him she needs time and space to think. Adrienne drives to Rodanthe,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

to look after a friend's bed-and-breakfast for a few days. It is a house right on the beach, partially in the surf at high tide. The only guest for the weekend is surgeon Paul Flanner. He suffers from flashbacks of a surgery that ended tragically, which has made him cold and frustrated. The family of the patient who died lives in Rodanthe and is suing for wrongful death. As a storm arrives, Paul and Adrienne work together to protect the inn. They dine together, share stories, and eventually turn to each other for emotional support. A genuine romance begins and they fall in love. With Adrienne's advice and moral support, Paul finds the courage to visit the deceased patient's widower. He also feels guilty for passing up a relationship with his son Mark in favor of his career. He plans to visit

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, where Mark is working as a physician in an impoverished community. During their separation, Adrienne and Paul exchange numerous letters expressing their longing to be together again. On the evening that Adrienne and Paul are to reunite, he does not show up. Soon thereafter, Mark arrives at Adrienne's door with a box of Paul's personal belongings. He had been killed in a flash mudslide while attempting to save medical supplies. Mark thanks Adrienne for "giving him back the father he knew when he was a child". Over the following weeks, Adrienne struggles with the grief of losing Paul. Eventually, Amanda coaxes the story from her mother. A turning point for their relationship, Adrienne begins to deal with her loss. She tells her daughter the story of the very special type of love she found with Paul, and encourages her to seek that out for herself someday. Adrienne returns to Rodanthe and sees a small herd of

wild horses Wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'' that includes domesticated and undomesticated subspecies. * Przewalski's wild horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), a rare and endangered subspecies of wild ...

on the beach by the inn. She, her children, and her best friend walk down to the dock where Adrienne and Paul once danced.

Cast

as Adrienne Willis *

as Dr. Paul Flanner *

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...

as Dr. Mark Flanner *

Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in '' Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado ...

as Robert Torrelson *

Christopher Meloni Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' for its first 12 seasons and its spin-off ...

as Jack Willis *

Carolyn McCormick Carolyn Inez McCormick (born September 19, 1959) is an American actress who played Dr. Elizabeth Olivet in the ''Law & Order'' franchise. Life and career McCormick was born and raised in Midland, Texas, and graduated first in her class from ...

as Jenny *

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

as Jean *

Pablo Schreiber Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad S ...

as Charlie Torrelson *

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

as Amanda Willis *

Charlie Tahan Charles Tahan (born June 11, 1998) is an American actor. His notable roles include Wyatt Langmore in the Netflix original crime drama ''Ozark'' (2017–2022), the voice of Victor Frankenstein in the Disney 3D stop-motion-animated fantasy horror ...

as Danny Willis

Post-production

The house was damaged in a hurricane after the movie was filmed. New owners bought the house and relocated it to another part of the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

. Tourists to the area can rent portions of the house and stay in specific rooms that have been remodeled to appear as they did in the film (actual interior scenes were filmed on sound stages). The name of the house is Serendipity.

Reception

Box office

''Nights in Rodanthe'' has grossed $41.9 million in North America and $42.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $84.4 million. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $13.4 million, finishing second at the box office behind '' Eagle Eye'' ($59.6 million). It became Warner Bros.' thirteenth highest-grossing release of 2008.

Critical reception

According to review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, 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 30% based on 132 reviews. Metacritic scored the film with a 39/100, or "generally unfavorable", based on 26 critics' reviews. Although the movie was panned, it grossed $84.4 million worldwide. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' included ''Nights in Rodanthe'' on its 100 Worst Films of 2008 list. In 2010, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine named it one of the 10 worst

chick flick Chick flick is a slang term, sometimes used pejoratively, for the film genre catered specifically to women's interests, and is marketed toward women demographics. They generally tend to appeal more to a younger female audience and deal mainly ...

s ever made.

Accolades

Home media

''Nights in Rodanthe'' was released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on February 10, 2009.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nights In Rodanthe 2008 films 2008 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films based on works by Nicholas Sparks Films based on romance novels Films shot in North Carolina Films set in North Carolina Village Roadshow Pictures films Warner Bros. films Films directed by George C. Wolfe Films produced by Denise Di Novi 2008 directorial debut films Films scored by Jeanine Tesori 2000s English-language films 2000s American films