Movie Review: Unfaithful

Story: Faithful...good, unfaithful...bad!

That's pretty much it for the story. Unfortunately, other than the slick style over substance presentation, there just is no there...there. Director Adrian Lyne (Lolita, Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction, Flashdance) is familiar with sexual content and knows handily how to portray the subject on the big screen. Kudos to him for that feat. The film is based on the Claude Chabrol's La Femme Infidele, written by Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People and Julia). With this pedigree there is no doubt it would be an entertaining film with lots of eye candy. However, all of the gloss cannot make up for the lack of content. So if you are in the mood for a morality film with lots of sex, pretty people and some violence...this is for you.

Acting: Diane Lane is beautiful, talented and deserves applause for her performance in this film. Olivier Martinez (Before Night Falls) is also very nice to gaze upon. I have never been a Richard Gere fan and this film does not change my mind.

Critters: A cute fluffy suburban dog.

Food: Coffee, breakfast food, pasta and burnt chicken .

Visual Art: Very nice attention paid to the details in both the SOHO loft and the suburban household.

Blatant Product Placement: None.

Soundtrack: Over the top.

Opening Titles: Sets the mood.

Theater Audience: Fairly crowded for an afternoon flick. A mixed group of men and women.

Predictability Level: Very high

Oscar Worthy: No

Nit Picking: Sept, 11th will be a great cinema divide for me. Knowing the downtown landscape so well...I am always aware when the World Trade Center towers will come into view. I knew from barely five minutes into the film that this was filmed prior to Sept. 11th because the barricades around Grand Central Station were not in place. The few shots in SOHO (when it was not a weird tornado or monsoon season) the towers were glimpsed prominently in the background. However, rather than seen from a distance (as we have been seeing them in file footage so often) I was jolted into remembering how they blocked out everything in the landscape when viewed from close-up. It takes me a few minutes to clear my head when I see these scenes. Not the film's problem...but mine.

Big Screen or Rental: Rental would be fine. How about a Diane Lane rental weekend. A Little Romance,Chaplin, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Walk on the Moon, My Dog Skip.

Length: About 2 hours.

LOBO HOWLS: 5 (I am in a generous mood).