Unfaithful

 

 Okay I said I wasn't going to do this again, but after watching this film last night I had to comment. Why haven't I seen this film sooner. After all it was released in 2002, and is based on Claude Chabrol's 1969 film "La Femme infidèle". I happen to be a Chabrol fan, and I just didn't think that the film about a women's affair that leads to murder would be any better, and I would be right too if it wasn't in the very capable hands of Adrian Lyne. In any other directors hands we would have been served up a bland tale that has been done to death, but what Lyne does is create a compelling drama about a women's obsession, and a husbands fury. Peter Biziou cinematography is stunning, yet that is nothing new in a Lyne movie. Lyne has a flair for the visual, and he uses that in the film. The only flaw is that maybe after all the build up the third act kind of falls flat, but I buy what Lyne is selling, and that is things can get away from us. Truth be told I would have killed to make something like Unfaithful. The film is a throw back to those old noir movies. It was something that I was trying to do with my film "Deadly Obsessions". Lyne creates a mood with out sometimes his characters uttering a word. This is no small feat and it shows that Lyne is a good director. Diane Lane gives a top notch performance, and it's films like this one that really hammers that home. Richard Gere gives a subtle performance here, and is very believable as the husband. The scene where Diane Lane has her first encounter with her lover is a very sensuous and erotic scene in no small part due to Lane's performance. Unfaithful is a really good film about guilt, and obsession and worth seeing. While watching the film I couldn't help but compare similarities between "Deadly Obsessions" and "Unfaithful". I am in no way comparing the two films, but I was keenly aware why Lynes film works on so many levels. Mood is a big factor in a noir, and Lyne has tons of it in his film. I relied on my actors to give me that and they did. The bickering, and the bantering back and forth did that, but I needed more of a visual motif, and I didn't because I was obsessed in getting the film in the can. I wanted to finish because I knew of so many films that didn't get completed. I'm not saying that I don't like my film, but as all filmmakers will tell you they see their mistakes and not their films attributes. As an old film professor would say "blah, blah, blah...." No one wants to hear it, and he would be right, but I wanted this blog to be more then just a blog about reviews, new artists, and such. It's suppose to teach me something, and see how I develop or better yet how KGB Productions develops. I can say that after watching "Unfaithful" I was sparked by the creative muse. I may not be in Lyne's league, but I can sure try and get there, and by doing so maybe I'll keep the faith and actually make that second feature I'm still writing about.