Movies on DVD Review: Unfaithful

Stars Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, and Erik Per Sullivan. Directed by Adrian Lyne.

Story: Richard Gere and Diane Lane are Ed and Connie Sumner. The live in a nice two-story house outside New York City. Connie is a housewife and Ed works in the city overlooking a machine shop (or something to that effect). On a blustery day Connie takes the train into the city to pick up birthday stuff for their kid, Charlie (Erik Per Sullivan of the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle") As she's fighting the wind she literally bumps into French book dealer Paul Martel (Olivier Martinez) and skins her knee. Inviting her up to his apartment, he lends her band aids and a book. She returns home but it isn't too long before his mysterious French ways entice her back to his apartment... again and again and again and again. Ed begins to suspect that something is awry and starts looking into it...

Did I mention that Diane Lane gets naked? Just checking.

Director Adrian Lyne tries so hard to be Hitchcock that, at times, the movie almost works. Almost. For the first hour everything is pretty much what you would figure: woman trying to seem uninterested but allured to exotic art guy, husband dealing with B.S. at work, wife going back for more, wife trying to think husband doesn't notice, etc. The movie pretty much writes itself. At the hour mark, complications arise and things get interesting. Husband finds out and confronts the guy, accidentally killing him. He then tries covering it up as best as possible. The best part of the movie is when the husband knows what his wife did but doesn't bring it up, nor the fact the he killed her lover. She soon finds that he knows and is waiting for something to happen. This tension is the best part of the movie (aside from Diane Lane au naturale). After that the story slumps to a whimper and the end, probably meant to have gravitas, becomes a shrug.

Erik Per Sullivan is difficult to buy as their kid. Maybe it's from watching too much "Malcolm in the Middle." Look for Michelle Monaghan ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," "Eagle Eye") as one of Connie's friends.

Again, a $5 rental. Richard Gere has probably done worse, and I know Diane Lane has done worse ("Untraceable").

My grade: C+ (for Diane Lane)