Lovers Lane is Less Thrilling

Unfaithful (2002)

There is no such thing as a mistake. There are things you do, and things you don't do - Paul Martel

If you were to believe the quote which graces the back of the "Unfaithful" DVD that admirably states "a steamy and erotic thriller about sexual passion so intense, it consumes everything" then the odds are you're not going to be 100% satisfied with "Unfaithful". The reason being that whilst for the first half of "Unfaithful" is in deed quite erotic and features Diane Lane in several sex scenes and states of nakedness it never once approaches being a tense thriller, playing more like a rather flat drama than anything close to attaining suspense and excitement.

In "Unfaithful" Diane Lane stars as Connie Summer the wife of successful businessman Ed (Richard Gere) and mother to Charlie (Erik Per Sullivan), a seemingly perfect family. On a trip into New York she accidentally bumps into sexy book seller Paul (Olivier Martinez) and becomes obsessed with his foreign charms. Soon her obsession turns into a passionate affair with disastrous consequences.

"Unfaithful" starts well setting the scene of the Summer family's idyllic life in the burbs and although no real back story is built for any of the main characters the movie progresses well. All the signs are there and you know exactly what to expect and the build up works in gaining your interest. The initial meeting between Connie and Paul oozes simmering, sexual tension and you know exactly where all of this will lead. But then it all goes horribly wrong with tension replaced by dull drama and plenty of sexual passion. Thankfully it's not as blatantly cheap as "Body of Evidence" but with a good cast and a predictable but interesting plot it still fails to completely live up to expectations.

Part of my issue with "Unfaithful" is that for well over half the movie the focus of the proceedings is firmly set on the affair between Connie and Paul. At times this works well and there are a few moments of inspired tension, the scene when they first have sex is a good example of how to make a sex scene captivating for the right reasons. But then all too often it relies on ignoring the fore play and going straight to the wham bam thank you mam, so to speak. Now I am not opposed to erotic thrillers, especially those which show a balance between the two elements but "Unfaithful" seems to rely a little too heavily on sex and occasionaly gets close to being a skin flick with Diane Lane's glorious naked body being the main reason to watch.

But the main issue I have with "Unfaithful" is the only thing thrilling about it is the sex. When the affair causes a set of disastrous consequences there is no real build up, no scenes of high tension and very little realistic drama. Realism is a big issue here as when things start to spiral out of control "Unfaithful" becomes very unrealistic and areas which needed a greater build up are skipped over fleetingly. Without wanting to be overly critical I get a sense that having shot all the erotic scenes for the first half, Director Adrian Lyne, through in the towel knowing that no one would watch "Unfaithful" for anything but a sexual thrill.

The only really good thing about "Unfaithful" is Diane Lane (Untraceable) who like a fine wine gets better every time I watch her. Yes there are the Diane Lane sex scenes and those which see her naked but it's not all about the naked flesh and sex as you do get a real sense in the early scenes that when she contemplates the affair she struggles with it. In quite a strange way you start to feel for Connie despite the fact it's her willingness to be unfaithful to her husband that causes all the issues. A lot of this is down to Lane's likeability and out of all the stars she is the only one I would say actually plays her part well.

The total opposite could be said about Richard Gere's (Nights in Rodanthe) performance as her husband Ed, as there was no Gere magic at all on show in "Unfaithful". Now yes the part of Ed is mostly overshadowed by that of Connie, but it could quite literally have been anyone playing this role and for the most Gere fades into the background, failing to provide any real drama when scenes start to shift towards him.

As for Olivier Matrinez (S.W.A.T.) as the object of Connie's passion. Well yes he has the sexy accent, the eyes, the body etc etc and is such a stereotypical lothario that at times everything he does becomes all a little bit cliché. I would say the cliché issue is more to do with the fact that "Unfaithful" is directed by Adrian Lyne who has a track record of directing erotic thrillers such as "Nine 1/2 Weeks", "Fatal Attraction" and "Indecent Proposal". Lyne certainly stamps his mark on the movie, but then at a times a scene in "Unfaithful" feels all to like one from another of his movies and all becomes a little too familiar.

What this all boils down to is that "Unfaithful" could have been much more than it turned out to be, it could have been a sultry thriller full of sexual tension and suspense rather than a cross between "Fatal Attraction" and "Body of Evidence". The only plausible reason to watch it, other than for the ample sex scenes and naked flesh, is that Diane Lane puts in a good performance.