UNFAITHFUL (2002, Adrian Lyne) Rating: NNNN
Rating: NNNN
In Adrian Lyne’s universe, the sex is always overwrought, the lovers are perfectly lit and they pay a hefty price for enjoying the sins of the flesh. Unfaithful is one of Lyne’s best films, a sometimes clichéd but powerful drama about a married wife and mother (Diane Lane) who has an affair with a younger French hunk (Olivier Martinez). Her life really heats up when her husband (Richard Gere) finds out, and a plot twist spins the film in a new and surprising direction. This movie is a gift for Lane, who captures the fierce sexual yearning of a woman who could sacrifice her family for the sake of a perfect orgasm. Credit also goes to Gere, who takes a back seat to Lane, and Lyne, who made sure the studio didn’t hijack the film and force him to apply a simplistic and ultimately unsatisfying ending. (August 11 and 12, Royal)
