Hour.ca - Film - Movie details

You have seen this movie?
write your own review!

Rating of our members :

(8 members)

Solid But Thin Story

I haven't seen the original of this by French filmmaker Claude Chabrol, but I'd like to.

Unfaithful is a solid movie with good performances. Diane Lane plays a woman who has an affair with a younger man, despite the fact that her marriage is essentially happy. This is one of the strengths of the story, there is no argument for or against whether or not there was a good reason or not, it's just something she does. This, I think, is one of the biggest risks the movie takes, as audiences, at least North American audiences, like to have things easy. It would be simpler if her husband was a jerk and we could get behind the action.

As it is, part of the challenge is that the film is interested in skirting morality in favor of documenting the kinds of consequences that come from these kinds of actions.

Another risk was showing Richard Gere against type, playing the overweight nice-guy husband who experiences a deep and threatening crisis when the truth comes out.

Unfortunately the film is a little long and somewhat slow, in part because there is little dialogue. Not a bad thing for some situations, but it does require attention, and in some ways the pace of the narrative is not dynamic enough to rivet our attention.

That aside, there is obviously plenty of thought and care in this movie, and some very fine acting from Gere and especially Lane. There are no deep conclusions reached by the story, so the meaning ends up being pretty much what we can expect. There are a few surprises, but not many. The reason to enjoy this film is to enjoy the performers and the people they play, and the enactment of a drama that is affectingly realistic, even if predictable.

This is the perfect movie for a slow and thoughtful story experience, yet somewhat thin on development. It's not a movie to see many times for hidden meanings, yet it satisfies on enough levels to make it worth a watch.

Thomas Bauer

{17 votes}

December 21, 2005

Affairs are sexy-Diane Lane melts the big screen

Coming from Director Adrian Lyne, there are more than a few subtle reminders of his other relationship epic: Fatal Attraction.

This time around, we see the sultry Diane Lane falling quite innocently for a sexy young buck in the form of Olivier Martinez.

Gere's character is oblivious to the entire proceedings and Lane must try to find all kinds of excuses to hide her little secret.

You can feel her hunger for the raw, animalistic affection she receives from Martinez as she throws herself into her role. She wanes for him in his absences and continues to exist in her ongoing but very flat and devoid of emotion marriage to Gere's character.

There is a certain European feel and excitement in the cinematography. You never quite know the next place that emotion will draw Lane and Martinez to rip each other's clothes off and we might as well enjoy a nice backdrop while we're at it.

There is also a subtle innocence that Martinez brings to the screen unsure if what he is providing Lane's character is the love and desire she is lacking or a careful game he is playing as he toys with her lust and hunger for feeling needed.

This movie does not feel like a 2 hour epic. I was drawn into the characters and the storyline.

Adrian Lyne does a commendable job with this movie and makes the movie believable and the characters very lifelike.

Great movie-enjoyed it quite a bit.

Steve Landry

{29 votes}

November 3, 2004

NEED HELP

Big argument - please help. We are arguing about the end of the movie UNFAITHFUL. I argue that the French guy had a wife, and it was disclosed at the end when the cops came to the house to question Diane Lane and Richard Gere (they said the French guy's wife had called him in to missing persons, that is why they even looked for him and found him at the city dump).

Please confirm.

Thanks for your help.

Kevin Anderson

December 23, 2007

Hot, hot and hot!!!

The first hot is for Olivier Martinez...daaamn, we should see this guy on-screen more often. Lucky Kylie Minogue!!!

The second hot is for Diane Lane...this lady always choose roles that make us forget that she's actually 41 years-old. It's like she gets more and nore beautiful with the time, and all that without looking all plastified like some aging celebrities that I won't name.

The third hot is for the story...very sexual, very sensual...this is definitely the kind of movie where sex has a primary role as opposed to hte other themes of the movie like marriage ou unfaithfulness, even though it's the theme that title focuses on.

Richard Gere has a vulnerable role, it's rare to see him like that, since he always plays machos or ladies men. He is what makes the movie difficult for some, because he's the one who's being heartbroken and betrayed, and he plays that role very well.

To conclude, Unfaithful is a ver sexy movie with sexy actors and a sexy story, even though it's a little sad. Now that I come to think of it, Rihanna's song ''Unfaithful'' would've been perfect for that movie. Too bad it came out four years after it's release.

Mylene Otou

August 6, 2006

Delicious and difficult at the same time

I am a married woman (happily married) but I think it's human nature to ask yourself at least once in your life: ''What if?'' when you come across a young hot stud who gives you lots of attention and a flirty smile.

Seeing this movie, where a married 40-something wife actually gives in to temptation with a 26-year old French stallion - and does she ever - was simply gut-wrenching for me.

Diane Lane scores an incredible performance and expresses a range of emotion that made me laugh, cry, blush and rewind a couple of hot scenes in pure voyeurism style. Olivier Martinez displays incredible charisma and a nonchalant attitude that makes you want to be a fly on the wall during the hot steamy scenes.

When her husband's fears are suspected after he has her followed by a detective, what follows is the inevitable consequence of a very bad decision. Although I find Richard Gere usually too demeure an expressionless, he nearly stole the show as the deceived husband.

Neither my husband or myself were able to talk after this movie. What would we say? Would my husband have done the same thing? What would be our ending? Would we part? Stay together? Flee the country?

It's a powerful movie that will have you squirming in your seat.

Natalie Dzepina

{5 votes}

July 9, 2005

The littlest temptation can lead to the most dangerous things...

This movie is about a married couple with a son. But as work keeps them both busy on their lines, love and affection slowly disappears between them as husband and wife. And one windy day walkin in NY City, Ladd trips and gets bruised on the knee, and along comes Olivier Martinez to her resque, offering her to come up to his apartment to aid her bleeding bruise on the knee. And having a hard time hailing a taxi in the city, she decides to go for his offer. In this part of the movie, you can really tell there's chemistry between them already there. She goes back to her family, and tells her husband, Gere, about the accident she had in the city. As blind as Gere was to begin with, he suggests a good deed, by asking Lane to bring a bottle of wine to Martinez, as appreciation of what he did for his wife. Willingly Lane goes for it, with the feelings she then had, she was like a girl being inlove again. And each time they meet (Lane & Martinez), the passion between them becomes more intensive. Until Gere one day becomes suspicious of her affair with Martinez, and decides to have her followed and spied on. He gets his eveidences from the spy he hired, decides to go see Martinez, then he just goes ballistic, and ending up killing Martinez. And they never get caught for what they did.

This is a pretty good movie, as it focuses on how easy affairs can begin, and it's pretty much a real-life story as things like this DO happen in reality. Lane did a pretty good job acting out her role in this movie as the "desperate lady" wanting love and affection, but didn't get that from her husband, Gere, and then fell like a victim of a dangerous love-affair.

Truly a great movie!

Maria Deguzman

{7 votes}

May 27, 2004

Amazing!

This film pleased a lot me and I believe that it brings to think about the life of couple generally. Diane Lane delivers us a performance beyond of what I had hoped. Martinez and Gere are excellent in them roles. I recommend this film in all, it is very good!

Geneviève Tremblay

December 22, 2005

A must see!

Lane and Martinez arrived in their roles as if they were made for this film, and the amazing chemistry between the two of them has a lot to do with the fact that this movie was just great. The film feels very convincing, thanks to the beautiful acting, plot, cinematography and dialogue.

Valerie Augier

{1 vote}

November 27, 2005

A true unfaithful story

This is a true unfaithful story about a married couple, where the wife is cheating on the husband with a french man and they have a son together. This film shows you how easily it is to have an affair and the consequences could be when the husband finds out and kills the man that is having a affair with is wife. This film had great acting and a great storyline and I recommend this film to married couples. Thank you.

Carmela Sicurella

{5 votes}

July 2, 2004

Write your review!
please follow these guidelines

Information requested in blue will remain confidential [privacy policy]
Please indicate your real first and last names.

First name :

Last name :

Your email :

Confirm your email :

Title of your review (max. 150 characters)

Your review (max. 2000 characters)

available characters

You have seen this movie ?
What rating do you give to this movie ?

LIMIT PER PERSON : one comment before the movie and one review after. Thank you.

Your review will be read by our approval team and, if it is approved, will be posted on the website within 24 hours. It could also be published, along with your name, in the printed version of Hour magazine and on any of our partner websites. In order to present the highest quality of reviews, Hour reserves the right to refuse certain submissions. Any plagiarism will entail the entire removal of the member’s profile.
Hour and Xpress are not responsible for the opinions expressed by the members.