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 Based on the 1960s film "La Femme Infidele", Unfaithful is a rather familiar journey directed by Adrian Lyne, the director of "Fatal Attraction" and "Indecent Proposal". The difference between "Unfaithful" and his earlier two movies is Diane Lane. She delivers an absolutely immaculate performance as Connie Summer. There are moments in the movie when you wonder if she is acting or simply being herself. She has literally lived the role of the woman caught between the
ecstasy and excitement of an illicit affair on the one hand and the guilt created by the true love for her husband and son on the other. Her performance is flawless.
Olivier Martinez as Paul Martel, the handsome rogue who draws Lane into his web is convincing as the shallow and pleasure-seeking man. His European looks and accent provide him with that extra edge of the purely sensuous man.
 The film by itself has a story that is all too familiar and the script has many flaws in it. Connie literally runs into Paul on a very windy day in New York city. Paul invites her to his apartment to clean and dress up her wounds. From there on, Paul weaves his web with his silken smooth dialogues and his good looks until Connie rushes headlong into an affair out of her marriage. Edward (Richard Gere) finds out about it. The consequences are predictable and the ending quite stale.
The movie, which was more than tolerable because of Diane Lane's haunting performance, becomes very rocky at the end when Richard Gere tries to extend himself beyond his acting abilities. He struggles at the end when he has to show some emotions, and that, when placed alongside the incandescent brilliance of Lane, falls flat.
 All in all, a film worth watching just to see Lane. Wish she gets better projects though. Picture her along with Juliet Binoche (Chocolat) and Merryl Streep (Music from the Heart) and you have a dream cast of women actors that can make you forget even the worst of screenplays and scripts.
Sam Walker
published on 19th May 2002
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