‘Unfaithful’ Reviewed in ‘Picture This!’
It’s not impossible to imagine boredom settling in after eleven years of marriage…
By Rebecca Redshaw
Reprinted from NotesFromHollywood.com
It’s not impossible to imagine boredom settling in after eleven years of marriage. Just because you have a gorgeous home in the suburbs, a young son who adores you, and Edward, a faithful husband, that looks like Richard Gere (better yet is Richard Gere) doesn’t negate the possibility of an afternoon indulgence now and then. Most women settle for a fudge brownie sundae or a new pair of shoes to erase the doldrums, but not Connie Sumner.
On a chance meeting in the big city on a day windy enough to be wondering if she’ll ever see Auntie Em again, Diane Lane as Sumner meets a dark, dashing stranger named Paul, played by Olivier Martinez. As a writer, I would have had an orgasm just upon entering his loft filled with stacks of rare first editions and exotic volumes. Lane needs to return three times before tingling from head to toe.
Interesting premise unfaithfulness and it’s never been done before. Right.
Yet, Unfaithful is fun to watch given director Adrian Lyne’s proven ability to intrigue and terrify anyone who has contemplated breaking a commandment or two (Fatal Attraction/Indecent Proposal). The film manages to keep one’s attention until the closing credits if for no other reason than to see when, if ever, Gere will show some kind of outrage over his confirmed suspicions.
Edward Sumner is not easy to understand. Loyalty is such a valued character trait he fires his top assistant at work for even thinking about talking to a competitor, yet he never even questions his wife after learning of her affair. When confronting his wife’s lover about the tryst, he accepts not one drink but two as Paul explains the logistics of their sexual encounters.
Understanding Connie is a whole lot easier. Paul’s a hunk, young and dangerously charming. Whether they are having sex in the bathroom of the neighborhood bistro or in the hallway of his apartment building, the moment works for her. But then, alas, there’s the train ride home to suburbia for Connie to try to reckon with reality.
Lane looks good. No, Lane looks great. But better than that, she truly captures the physical elation, emotional rollercoaster, and tortured angst of a spouse unable to control her self. For someone with such a lengthy career, it’s a wonder more “A” scripts haven’t come her way.