Movie review: "Nights in Rodanthe" follows standard tear-jerker formula

It takes a long time after sitting down to write a review before I do any writing. Do I give it a thumbs up or down? Should I spend time explaining the plot or save the words for the film's deeper meaning? Maybe I should talk about the technical craft? Or maybe I should go off on a tangent rather than write about a film no one will remember is six months?

The reviewer's dilemma was once discussed in the May 3, 1946, edition of the London Tribune. George Orwell wrote this about his years of reviewing books: "Until one has some kind of professional relationship with books one does not discover how bad the majority of them are. In much more than nine cases out of 10 the only objectively truthful criticism would be, 'This book is worthless.'"

As a longtime bookstore general manager I whole heartily agree with Orwell, and though he never reviewed films, I'm sure he would agree with me there is no difference in the movie business. He went on to write in the article that it's hard to pan nine out of 10 books and — being human — found he often let writers off the hook and wrote a review that was neither pan nor praise.

Back to this week's film.

"Nights in Rodanthe" is a film that will find a wide audience and pull many heartstrings. It's a big Warner Bros. production starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, who are both lovely and adorable and charming. It's filmed by Affonso Beato, one of the best cinematographers working today. And if author Nicholas Sparks doesn't guarantee a teary eyed audience, I have no idea what will.

The first-time film director, George C. Wolfe, found himself in over his head quite a few times during Gere and Lane's courtship; often the actors seemed to be working out the script and rehearsing the relationship. But being pros, and with a lot of help from dramatic close-ups, the story moved ahead at a good pace.

I'm not telling any tales out of school to let you know "Nights in Rodanthe" is a formula film of the most basic type. It's a boy-meets-girl story that doesn't diverge much further than that.

Gere, a divorced doctor married to his career, and Lane, a recently separated mother who never realized her dreams, meet at a beach side bed and breakfast in Rodanthe, N.C. They fall for each other and rekindle their inner selves. Will they get together in the end? Or will the formula story be trampled by wild horses? I'm sure more than the fans of Sparks, Gere and Lane will be happy with the outcome.