The Unfaithful Wife (1969)

Pretty Good

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"La Femme Infidele" is arguably Claude Chabrol's finest film and certainly one of the masterpieces of sixties French cinema. The adulterous wife is, yes you've guessed it, Stephane Audran and Michel Bouquet is the cuckolded husband who decides to confront his wife's lover, Maurice Ronet, with fatal results. Perhaps the gentle art of murder has never been as gentle or as artful as here. I don't think I've ever seen killers, victims or those caught in-between behave in such a civilized manner. The performances are brilliant, the script a constant delight and Chabrol's direction is pitch-perfect. Not to be missed.

Having located the man who his wife is having an affair with through a private investigator, a well-to-do Frenchmen pays the man an amicable visit in this slow burn thriller from Claude Chabrol. While the film ends on a strong note with a nicely ambiguous final shot, an emphasis on 'slow' really is required as the entire first half-hour moves sluggishly along until the point when husband and lover finally meet. The precious few minutes that the pair share together are unquestionably the strongest in the film with lots of tension and uncertainty in the air as the husband wins the lover's confidence by pretending that he has an open marriage. This intensity peaks as he listens to the lover talk about how gentle and loving his wife is, enlightening him to a side of his wife that he clearly has not seen for a while. The immediate aftermath of their meeting together is pretty riveting too, but following that the film again loses tension and slows down in its final third, never again achieving the excellence of the husband-lover meeting scene. The film almost feels a bit long in a way, but then on the same account, not quite enough time is dedicated to fleshing out whether love, lust or otherwise existed between the two adulterers. Michel Bouquet's towering lead performance goes a long way to keep the film afloat though. Same goes for Chabrol's fluid camera movements, Pierre Jansen's atmospheric score and the rather novel premise of husband and lover meeting on amicable terms. It is such a great idea that is no surprise to learn that the film has been remade no less than three times to date.

"The Unfaithful Wife" is the very definition of the word "slow-burner" this means that if you enjoy fast paced, big budget, high concept films packed full of decapitations, fast car chases and thrilling pursuits then this is not for you. However, if you're like me and do enjoy all of those things but also appreciate brilliant direction and cinematography and replace a body count with atmosphere and tension now and again then I think that you should really admire the well crafted work done here by the brilliant Chabrol.Not a lot happens in "The Unfaithful Wife" as it is centred around one thing, a marriage in despair and a jealous husband, however like other great films it manages to remain gripping and masterful. I really liked the idea of the story and Chabrol plays it out in a Hitchcock fashion, although I find Hitchcock quite overrated and only really enjoying "Psycho" but Chabrol pans the story out in a suspense fashion and when the husband does murder his wife's lover it has a fabulous realism about it. The tension remains high and the suspense is bursting through the roof! but, unlike my family, you have to be willing to look out for brilliant directing techniques.The cinematography is excellent, it captures the central characters and the breaking down of the marriage very intensely, adding to the gripping nature of the film. Chabrol has crafted something quite brilliant here and although it might not be as good as his others like "The Beast Must Die" it still has a fantastic realism about it. Give it a go!

The Unfaithful Wife seems to be separate, but over lapping stories: like minimally invasive Venn Circles. The premise is divided: France's socially passive nes'pas attitude and fundamental acceptance of extramarital affairs, contrasted with one parties fundamental and conventional recognition of fidelity.The center piece of cohesion in the film is the married couple have a child. wife learns illegitimate lover also has offspring. This seems to create a divisive consternation within her. The lover distances himself from attentive loyalty to his progeny, to which the unfaithful wife cannot accede. There is a specific statement made by the unfaithful wife that is the recognition of true separateness from lover back to husband. The end is a surprise.SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS Overall, the themes are humanly dense and rich. But one must repeatedly watch this movie to ascertain the potential motives of each character. This movie is closer to a GREAT DRAWING PROMO or TRAILER, THAN A COMPLETE MOVIE. Excellent diversity of prototypes, realistic themes, very good acting======lacks expressive character depth This final one flaw is equivalent to a hot air balloon, with no hot air. You understand the concept, but never realize its human experience beauty in completion. A B&W remake would be really interesting.