Richard Gere and Diane Lane get together again, this time a bit more amicably than they did in their 2002 Unfaithful, where they were doing the lover’s quarrel in the sinister dance mode. For Nights In Rodanthe, the two quietly, smoothly dance into each other’s arms in an unlikely manner posed by a script with so few characters there is no way they could miss each other. Now the smoothly part can be attributed to their age. Two people, previously married, do know how to be with another romantically. That Gere and Lane manage to convincingly find surprise and joy in this late-in-life affair is to their credit.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina, as a location, can hardly be topped for a late summer offering, especially as Autumn is upon us. The set, the beach, the ocean are all used to best effects. The house that is the Bed & Breakfast, is to long for. The dialogue and the story itself are unusual enough, well crafted enough, that the lazy slippage of time for this weekend getaway is contagious in that the film doesn’t drag on.

Diane Lane portrays a busy Mom, hustling her kids together for ‘time with Dad’ who obviously no longer lives in the house. A familiar strain, as is the harsh sounds of the kids’ whining one minute and shouting the next. I was as relieved as she was to be rid of them and soaking in the beach breezes. Kids and Dad head to Florida and Adrienne goes to tend her friend’s B&B business, while she vacations elsewhere—hey, apparently even those at an idyllic beach destination need a break from all the ocean sounds, the salty air, the sandy pedicures. So her friend, Jean (played by the lovely Viola Davis) leaves her with some savvy advice, a gorgeous home and one pesky visitor.

Dr. Paul Flanner is there to work out some kinks in his life. We found him handing over the keys to his palatial home to a new couple. As this is another familiar scene, little else needs said. He shows up at the beach house looking scrumptious, the usual Gere himself. Not lost on Adrienne, she nonetheless is also a bit distracted because her jerk husband wants to move back in and play house again with the family. Jack, (TV’s Christopher Meloni) has been gone these many months with a younger woman, breaking Adrienne’s heart and leaving the usual distressed children for her to care for. The young people have cameo roles, but do a tremendous job of being memorable. Mae Whitman and Charlie Tahan play Amanda and Danny, the distraught younger members of the broken home scenario. While loading the kids’ luggage into his car, Jack tells Adrienne he wants to come back home. Another familiar situation, so let’s go to the beach.

This part of the film is beautifully rendered. The beach in its myriad faces, morning, day, evening, clear and cloudy, or even, in this case in fiercest storm mode, a hurricane…a little one, for clarification. After all, we need the house to still be standing afterwards. Just to be clear, if that is the way a house sounds in an east coast minor wattage hurricane, leave me out of the musings. The storm passes, and matters tend to themselves, as they have a way of doing at the beach. The script casually moves through the weekend and the feelings, not only of this couple, but the mess in the wake of the two previous couplings, their lives and where they are headed into the future.

Not exactly a mid-life crisis, though, again, some familiarity of timing. Part of the issues that Dr. Paul is working through includes his reason for this detour, a visit to the husband of a client. In a truly superb cameo, Scott Glenn induces tears. Then, Dr. Paul, having won Adrienne’s heart, continues on his quest, to visit his son in Ecuador. Luscious James Franco wonderfully portrays his estranged son, Dr. Mark Flanner. The scenes with him are outstanding.

This movie includes an ambush of emotions, so if you are in a difficult place right now in your life, I’m warning you off—rent it when the time is right. The acting, the cinematography, the locations all add up to a lovely slice-of-life film.