I rented Unfaithful on DVD, because it is a remake of a French film from 1969 called La Femme Infidele(The Unfaithful Wife). I have been a fan of French dramatic cinema for a few years now. They use the different camera angles during a simple scene to change the audience’s perspective from simply observation to almost active participant. The stories usually have a plot twist that makes the audience ponder what they would do in the same situation. Unfaithful seemed to capture that same spirit keeping in mind the camera work as well as making the audience feel this story for themselves.
Casting: The cast was superb. I am not usually a Richard Gere fan, because sometimes I feel he lacks emotion in his roles. In this film he plays the husband, who is kind of wishy-washy. Not spontaneous or exciting. He loves his family, but he is also very occupied with his successful business. It is almost as if he has lost his sense of self. He works hard to support the family, but at the same time his wife has control over his home, how he dresses, and which social engagements they attend.
Diane Lane plays the unfaithful wife. She is a society wife who plans fundraisers to improve her husband’s image, and she is also a mother who ensures her child has the proper clothes and proper schooling. She too is seeming to lose her sense of self being the perfect wife and mother.
Oliver Martinez is the lover. He is this young, French man who is a book dealer. He lives in an apartment in the city that is filled to the brim with books. His place is cluttered and simple. Not elaborate like the wife’s house in the suburbs, but it is a magical escape. The lover does not seem to have many obligations. He is available whenever the wife needs him, and he seems to enjoy the uncommitted relationship.
Plot: The plot is simple yet complex. The wife is in the city buying supplies for her son’s birthday party. The day is windy and she can’t seem to catch a taxi. She knocks over the lover who is walking down the street with a handful of books. She skins her knees and is bleeding. He offers to let her come up to his apartment for some bandages. She has a choice to make. Does she go up to this handsome stranger’s place, or stay out in the wind waiting for a cab? She goes up to his place, of course! Nothing happens the first time they meet, but he gives her his card. It is obvious right away the two of them are helplessly attracted to one another. He gives her his card as well as a book, and she leaves. She contemplates calling him, and then she goes to the city again and does call him. Affair ensues!
The wife and the lover have this raw, animal attraction. Their whole relationship is based on sex, and they have sex whenever and wherever they can, it seems. The audience becomes drawn into this. You can almost feel the raw attraction between them yourself. The sex scenes are so steamy, you can feel yourself blushing. The thing I like about the film as well, is that the husband suspects something is going on right away. He is not some clueless idiot like people are in some other films about infidelity. He sees a change in her. Her clothes change. She starts dressing more sexy, she goes out all the time, she smiles secretly to herself. The husband goes from wimpy to aggressive where his wife is concerned. He has her followed by an investigator. His suspicions are confirmed, and now he has to decide what to do next.
Conclusion: The main theme of the film is choices. The wife had to make a choice between having an affair or not, and to maintain the affair or end it. The lover had the same choices. The husband had a choice to follow his suspicions or not. He also had a choice to make as to how he would act when his suspicions were confirmed.
I do not want to give any more of the story away. You should see this film for yourself. I enjoyed it, even if the raw sexual attraction and acts on the screen made me blush. It makes the audience sympathise with the characters. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a film that makes them ponder something more than special effects or a simple love story.