UNFAITHFUL

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This is one of the more remarkable American films I've seen recently (I caught up with it on home video after missing it in theaters). Diane Lane gives a relentlessly honest, emotionally naked, beautifully judged performance as the adulterous wife that is at least the equal of any female performance I saw last year. Sex scenes are common in movies, but the ones in UNFAITHFUL pack a real emotional and physical punch--they are visceral and real in a way that most movie sex scenes never approach. And Richard Gere gives one of his best performances ever as the confused, angry, wounded husband who finds his life open up like an abyss when he learns his wife is cheating on him. Top-notch cinematography by Peter Bixiou sets the moods of this astonishingly emotional, brooding film. Director Adrian Lyne redeems himself for the schlock he inflicted on us earlier in his career.

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I really enjoyed Unfaithful as well...at least until THE turning point in the film (which is all I'll say about that so as not spoil it for the uninitiated). Up to that point, I thought it had some wonderful moments, including Lane's incredible train ride home, which may have been the best five minutes of film I saw this year. And the confrontation scene between Gere and Martinez was great until the aforementioned wrong turn. My only other quibble was that it demanded a pretty hefty suspension of disbelief -- the coincidences started to get a little thick as the love affair wore on. But overall, I thought it was very good, though it could have been and should have been great. It will be a real shame if Lane gets nosed out for the Osar nom in a tough field, but I don't think that will happen.

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I thought the plot twist you allude to was plausible, especially since Gere was shown earlier as having an explosive temper. Things like that happen every day of the week. It didn't seem far-fetched to me. That he got away with it was a bit more of a stretch, but also possible. You're right, though, that the movie wasn't great when it could and should have been. I'd put the blame for that on a patchy script and Lyne's uneven direction--sometimes very good, sometimes routine.

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I don't think the issue was plausability, rather it was a question of what would make for a more interesting film. I thought the writer's choice was the wrong way to go. It was almost as if he started writing a terrific confrontational scene and had no idea where to go with it. ("Hmmm...better introduce a handy blunt object somewhere along here.") I would have been much more interested to see how Gere comes to the terms with the ongoing threat of infidelity. And the big question: could Lane's moth stay away from the flame? That would have been the better story.

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I thought Diane Lane had some great moments in this film. She may even deserve a nomination for her portrayal. The story, however, took an unfortunate turn during the confrontation between the husband and the wife's lover. I would rather have seen Gere and Lane resolve their conflict, one way or another, with her lover waiting in the wings. It is true that murder is common. All too common in the movies as a plot devise where some thought provoking non-violent action would be more realistic.

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If you noticed the credits, there were 2 writers credited with the script. That means at least 2 and probbaly more worked on it. In that situation, especially with a conventional-minded director like Adrian Lyne, you will wind up with a script compromise. The same thing happened on FATAL ATTRACTION, where Lyne shot one ending (Glenn Close kills herself and frames Michael Douglas for murder), tested it with audiences,and ended up reshooting the actual ending where Douglas' wife kills Close. I wouldn't be at all surprised if UNFAITHFUL had a different last one-third in the original script and maybe even as shot. Lyne is a very commercially oriented director who always wants to give the audience what it expects to get--a trait that sank 9 1/2 WEEKS, which also should have been a much better movie, considering the terrific book it was based on.

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I also watched 'Unfaithful' this weekend on DVD. To me, the development was plausible - but as you say, there could have been a better plot. I was not satisfied by the end. That was more obvious to myself when I told a friend about the movie today and I couldn't really describe the end anymore.

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Hazlitt

Quote:

I would rather have seen Gere and Lane resolve their conflict, one way or another, with her lover waiting in the wings.

Interesting thinking....although for me, a bit sad.

"Waiting in the wings"? This guy was scoring chicks like they were goin' out of style.

Great movie, Larry!

One of the best, from many a year!

True to life except, I agree with all, that it went total "movie" when Gere followed script....and did the deed.

This story reminds us all that you can never, ever count on anything....or anyone. Ever!

Your life could change any day of the week, depending on how "the wind blows".

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Larry, I too was thinking of Fatal Attraction as I was writing my post about Unfaithful. I have always considered that movie to be flawed for much the same reasons. With F.A. we got a sort of hyper, but believable, love triangle that suddenly turns into a sort of half baked horror story. I guess it's okay if you go for that sort of thing, but I don't.

KY, all I'm trying to say is that the Lane character would have a more realistic choice before her is her lover had been alive. You ought not suppose that I have any sympathy for him or his course of action. Also, I have to confess that I threw in the towel before the movie was over and don't recall all the ending details.

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What I thought was interesting about this movie, and what none of you have pointed out, is that the adulterous wife was NOT PUNISHED for her affair. She kept her marriage, her child, and her luxurious lifestyle. That wouldn't have been the case in a Hollyhwood movie not so very long ago, when sexual misconduct ALWAYS had to have a price tag. Even in FATAL ATTRACTION the husband paid a huge price for his much more casual fling than the Diane Lane character did in UNFAITHFUL. Are we getting more sophisticated? Or is Hollywood just getgting more cynical? Or both?

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Not punished?! Surprised

What do you want, a public flogging? Her lover is dead, her marriage destroyed is destroyed (check out the alternate ending on the DVD if you have any doubt on how the story was intended to end -- Gere gets out of the car and goes into the police station to turn himself in) and God know what she's done to her self-esteem. And that's before any other consequences would kick in (like the press and the shame of having to confront her family and friends). I don't think the writer or director had any intention of suggesting that her character gets off lightly.

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Tim, I think you and I are in pretty close agreement on this film.

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Larry

It is my understanding that the unfaithful male is thought to be a scoundrel, a cheat, a liar, a pig, and generally summmed up with one word: TYPICAL

The "unfaithful" (quotes to be emphasized) female is thought to be neglected, repressed, missing out on life, deserving of a clandestine "renewal", and generally summed up in with one word:
FINDINGHERSELF

Hollywood is appropriately tuned in.

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I repeat my point...the character gets off pretty lightly compared to what the Hollywood Code would have demanded a few short decades ago. I don't give a damn what the alternate ending on the DVD is, the release ending has her telling her husband "we can get through this" and showing exactly how they do.
The consequences about press and friends would never arise because the police never established the husband's culpability.

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UNFAITHFUL

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