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UNFAITHFUL Send This Review to a Friend
The hot, erotic and secret sex in "Unfaithful" should be enough to titillate audiences throughout the country. Add enough guilt to make the film a cautionary tale against the potential consequences of cheating and the umbrella is provided for legitimization. Then add a triangle of appealingly convincing performances and the ingredients of a potential hit are there, only partially spoiled by drawing out the situation to a rather flabby and inconclusive ending.
"Unfaithful," directed by Adrian Lyne and scripted by Alvin Sargent and William Broyles, Jr., is based on the more sophisticated French film "La Femme Infidele" written and directed by Claude Chabrol. Lyne ("Fatal Attraction" and "Indecent Exposure") is not known for subtlety, but restrains himself with considerable discipline this time as he explores the entanglement of a restless wife indulging in wild sex with a seductive Frenchman and her husband's reaction when he suspects what's happening.
Diane Lane, an actress whom I have long admired, especially for her acting in "A Walk on the Moon," tops everything in her past here with a performance that is both stunning and profound as Connie, the suburban wife who comes into Manhattan one day and through chance in SoHo meets the young bookseller Paul. Against her better judgment, an affair begins and they are having steamy afternoon sex, usually in his apartment, but also according to what we witness, once in the hallway and better yet, once in the bathroom of the corner pub while her unaware girlfriends await her return to the table. Hot stuff. Lane's best dramatic scenes are when her face registers her emotions as she rides home on a train and ponders the range of her feelings, from guilt to why-not delight. But all of the scenes she has, no matter with whom--Paul, her husband Edward, girlfriends or the police--are acted superbly.
As for Paul, he is played to sexy perfection by the very appealing Olivier Martinez, who should become a sought-after movie heartthrob as a result of this coup. He renders Paul a cool but determined seducer who knows his way around women and their vulnerability. There's also good news in the casting of Richard Gere in the best role he has in years. Gere looks great in a mature way and he acts with seeming comfort in the part of the wronged husband, expressing love for his wife while preoccupied with work in the business world. He also telegraphs a nasty temper that sets the stage for a later confrontation. By playing the husband so well, Gere completes the circle of tension required for the story to work There's even a good performance from Erik Per Sullivan as Charlie, the young son of Connie and Edward, who mixes matter-of-fact innocence with some vague awareness of trouble in the household.
Lyne keeps the film taut most of the way, blending the unleashed passions with the uneasiness of lying and the mounting awareness of the husband. It is when the police become involved that matters become a bit far-fetched and strung out. As a developing case it doesn't measure up to the first part of a good "Law and Order." Then when it slips into the realm of conscience and what should be done, "Unfaithful" is more unsatisfying than unsettling.
But when the film is dealing with the main business at hand--a liberated fling at illicit sex and attempting to cover one's tracks--"Unfaithful" is smart and horny. A 20th Century Fox release.
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