Unfaithful Review
by Dragan Antulov (dragan DOT antulov AT st DOT tel DOT hr)December 16th, 2002
UNFAITHFUL (2002)
A Film Review
Judging by the neo-puritanical standards being gradually introduced by MPAA in recent years, Hollywood movies in the near future are most likely to resemble those made in the era of Hays Office and Production Code. Nowadays, when Hollywood studios decide to re-make a 1970s or 1980s movie, it is almost certain that the new version would have "PG- 13" rating instead of the original "R" (and these days "PG-13" is much closer to "PG" than it originally intended). So, when Hollywood studio does the opposite, many would interpret it as a cause for celebration and the sign that some of the disturbing trends might be reversed. One of such rare instances occurred with UNFAITHFUL, 2002 drama directed by Adrian Lyne. Marketed as "erotic thriller", this film is significantly more explicit in the depiction of sex than LA FEMME INFIDELE, 1969 original directed by famous French filmmaker Claude Chabrol.
Protagonist of the film is Constance "Connie" Sumner (played by Diane Lane), whose life is a perfect embodiment of every 40-something housewives' ideals - she shares posh suburban home with loving husband Edward (played by Richard Gere) and cute nine-year old son Charlie (played by Per Erik Sullivan) and, thanks to Edward's successful business, doesn't have to worry about finances. Her idyllic life begins to change one windy day in New York where she meets Paul Martel (played by Olivier Martinez), good-looking French bookseller who would use minor incident as an excuse to invite her to his apartment and start making romantic advances. After initially rejecting, Connie finds an excuse to visit his apartment again and this encounter results in the start of a torrid
extra-marital affair. While Connie desperately tries to hide her double life from her family, she gradually becomes careless and creates enough suspicion for Edward to hire private investigator. This would begin cycle of events that would end tragically.
Explicit sex scenes in UNFAITHFUL don't break any new ground but they nevertheless represent quite a surprise for all those accustomed to the standards of modern Hollywood. However, the most pleasant surprise of UNFAITHFUL is not eroticism itself (although the quality of those scenes rises even above the other works of Adrian Lyne, filmmaker who made quite reputation with the word "erotic" in past decades). The most pleasant surprise of UNFAITHFUL is in the genre - this film belongs to the realm of drama rather than the realm of thriller. Script by Alvin Sargent and William Broyles Jr. is completely dedicated to the serious exploration of all the psychological and other consequences of marital infidelity. Lyne, despite whole-heartedly adopting moralistic and pro- marriage stance, doesn't preach the sermon and makes his case with a lot of restraint, allowing the viewers to draw their own conclusions. UNFAITHFUL shows the effects of infidelity, but, in this particular case, doesn't show the causes - Sumner's marriage is portrayed as perfect; Edward doesn't neglect or abuse his wife. Connie's decision to start an affair doesn't have any rational or pseudo-rational basis, except, perhaps in the hedonistic ideology of instant self-gratification that is so prevalent
in modern world. However, Lyne and his scriptwriters leave those speculations to the viewers and that makes film even more realistic, since many people in real life make serious mistakes for entirely irrational reasons.
Another pleasant surprise in UNFAITHFUL is incredible quality of acting. Diane Lane, actress with a long but not particularly stellar career, is able to blow the audience away with superb performance. Lane in this film bares all, and not just in the literal sense - the role she had taken required all of her talent. The character of Connie, with her conflicting agendas - succumbing to lust and trying to protect the shell of the family life in the same time - was complex and required the top class actress. Lane did it so magnificently that she deserves the serious consideration for top acting awards for 2002. Her partner Richard Gere, once a hot Hollywood hunk, seems quite comfortable with the age that brought him one of the first roles of cuckolded husband. His role also requires a lot of talent and Gere delivers, but this performance is overshadowed by Lane's triumph. French heartthrob Olivier Martinez, on the other hand, is burdened with somewhat thankless role of a man whose sole function is to look good and seductive and thus provide the catalyst for the drama. Martinez, however, plays this role very well.
Unfortunately, after the serious plot twist (rather unpredictable for those who haven't seen Chabrol's original) UNFAITHFUL starts to meander into the cliched thriller territory. The audience is succumbed to boring and predictable scenes involving police and criminal activity. Somewhat unusual and open-ended finale saves impression a little bit, but it happens almost half an hour too late. Yet, despite all that boredom at the end, UNFAITHFUL is still very interesting film and although it isn't a masterpiece, it features a performance that is quite worthy of that status.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
Review written on December 15th 2002
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax
http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in Croatian
http://www.purger.com/users/drax/reviews.htm - Movie Reviews in English http://www.ofcs.org - Online Film Critics Society
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