Unfaithful (2002)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Redundant and unnecessary.

An absolute waste of money

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I would love to say this movie was great but...Long and boring, the affair that was supposed to be so sexy was okay but certainly not worth the hype. Acting was good but not great. I kept waiting for the exciting turn but even the death scene was none climatic.There was really no ending, just a long discussion and nothing is done. No tense moments, no twist, no nothing... just 2 hours and then its over.Why the 9 out of 10? well it must have connected with my wife as I got a handi for the 3rd act and that alone is worth the price of admission...

There's a scene in "Unfaithful" in which the heroine, Connie Sumner, drives recklessly through the city streets, a bag of oranges spilling in the back seat of her vehicle. At first I thought one of the oranges would roll under her brake pedal and cause a wreck. When that didn't happen, I thought there might be some symbolism to the shot, as if we were meant to realize that Connie's life was running out of control like so much fresh produce rolling on the floorboard of an SUV. Maybe, or maybe it was pointless, like everything else in the film."Unfaithful" is the latest Adrian Lyne flick to hit the big screen (and now DVD), and it isn't any better than or even as good as any of his previous efforts. Unlike "Indecent Proposal", which explored basic consequences of an unusual situation, or "Fatal Attraction", which explored unusual consequences of a basic situation, "Unfaithful" is basic all the way around: woman has affair, husband begins to suspect. There's nothing here that hasn't been done a hundred times before and a hundred times better.Part of the problem is that we never really have a reason to make an emotional investment in the characters. Connie loves her family, true, but we don't really get to know her, and as a result, we never understand why she would fall for the suave Frenchman she literally bumps into on the street. Nor do we see enough of her husband to really empathize with him. We pity him, but that's a much less interesting emotion. Once the affair begins, Connie's days are filled with sex and her nights are filled with the occasional fear that she will be discovered and the nagging sense that what she's doing is wrong. Again, though, we don't understand why she began the affair or why she keeps it going. The whole thing seems to be based on sex, hardly making her a sympathetic character.Another problem is the direction. Adrian Lyne seems desperate to infuse the film with meaning, but he never succeeds. More than half the scenes feel completely pointless. The son, for example, has no significant role in the film whatsoever, yet his screen time rivals that of the lover. It may be important for us to see the innocent victims here, but in an art form in which every frame of film has to justify its existence, Lyne bogs the proceedings down with entire scenes that do nothing to expand the plot or the characters. Some may defend it by pointing to the realism of the scenes, but as Tom Clancy once said, real life is boring. If realism is indeed what Lyne was striving to achieve, I guess he succeeded.What Lyne does well is sex, and this film is full of it. I didn't realize I was going to be seeing a porno movie when I sat down to watch this, but with the basic plot and extremely explicit sexuality, I would have to say "Unfaithful" qualifies as one. Various positions, various locations, it's all here, and it's surprisingly graphic for a major motion picture, so be warned if you find such things offensive.The movie isn't all bad, though. Diane Lane's performance is excellent, especially in the train scene following her first illicit encounter. It's also nice to see Richard Gere playing a more insecure character than his gigolo persona. There's chemistry in all the scenes, and every relationship seems believable (even if we never fully understand the affair). Really, the only things that are truly awful about the film are the script and the direction, but those deficiencies are far too big for the cast to overcome. What we are left with is a well-acted movie that pushes the limits of what is permissible in an "R"-rated film but fails to expand any horizons.

Unfaithful (2002): Dir: Adrian Lyne / Cast: Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Oliver Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan, Michelle Monaghan: Painful yet well crafted film regarding unfaithfulness. Richard Gere and Diane Lane play a married couple whose marriage is threatened when she has an affair with a bookseller played by Oliver Martinez. Predictable and dark especially when murder factors. Even a visit from the police seems recycled and obvious. Adrian Lyne's films often address sexual consequence but the sex scenes seem more as a peep show. Better examples of his work are Indecent Proposal and 9 ½ Weeks but this is not one of his better films thanks to its emphasis on being a peep show. In the first the sexual tension is high but not shown. In the second it is displayed in multiple variety to back its subject matter. Here it just seems like an excuse to place two actors in hot sexual action. Gere and Lane deliver on frustration and guilt despite being props for a dim cliffhanger. Martinez is charming and seductive and ultimately too abrupt. Other roles play for convenience over purpose. As with most Lyne films, this one is well made in terms of locations and lighting but its message might have worked more effectively had the affair been less of a peep show and more about motives and consequence. As a result it is more about steamy sex than the consequences of infidelity. Score: 5 ½ / 10

Best describe it is a low budget porno only good thing about the movie She meets a guy she screws him in a whole bunch of different places Between that she goes home and talks to the husband No real plot to the movie closest thing to a plot is after the cute guy dies Coming up with a story to out run the police after hubby dumps the body That's as close as your going to get to a plot the rest is a lot of Moaning and groaning and more moaning and groaning Just skip it your not missing much in fact your not Missing anything at all. This was a real stinker This Movie Really Stinks Yup unless your looking for cheap porno skip it