On the one hand “Unfaithful” is essentially a toned-down TV movie-esque remake of “Fatal Attraction” and aside from its stars, there’s nothing really here that would categorise it as a ‘movie’ as such.
On the other hand, for what it is, it’s actually quite well done with a surprisingly effective moody atmosphere and story turns that take the more difficult path of a sense of realism even if they seem a little cliche at times.
Adrian Lyne’s penchant for telling stories may have dropped off a bit, but visuals wise he’s still darn good with some unusually shot scenes and use of music/sound to create a down to earth feel which makes the somewhat Hollywood antics in the second part a little more unexpected than they would normally be.
This film is the chance for Diane Lane to shine and she does, everything about the film relies on her performance and she’s convincing throughout. I like the fact they made her quite human in this, initially elated on the sheer energy of the experience which she keeps wanting more of until she realises what she’s done and its effect on her and her family.
In many ways, this is a story of compulsion, and Oliver Martinez as the dark and mysterious French paramour (with his ‘never vanish’ stubble and non-American look) gives the right amount of intensity to his character with a dark edge that gives the audience an unsure sense about what he’s capable of. Richard Gere delivers his usual style role as the husband even if his scenes toward the end start getting over the top.
The dragging pace (the film is about 20 mins too long) makes it only worth going if your are into the drama. Is the drama worth it? If you liked the trailers then yes. It’s more introspective and slow-burning than the average efforts of this rather sudsy genre though that’s a good thing. Worth a look if only for Lane’s performance.
