For fans of author Nicholas Sparks, Nights in Rodanthe promises to please its intended audience approximately as much as previous films A Walk to Remember and The Notebook.

For fans of romance films, though, the same might not apply. While held together well (admirably, even) by stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane (in their third film as co-stars), the story itself moves at a slow pace and relies on several plot contrivances to reach its end. Worth a rental, though, largely for Lane’s performance.