00s Movie Review - Unfaithful

Director: Adrian Lyne
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Romance
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Olivier Martinez, Michelle Monaghan, Chad Lowe

Description: A New York suburban couple’s (Richard Gere, Diane Lane) goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Review: Edward Sumner and his wife Connie lead an exemplary life consisting of a good marriage, a beautiful house in one of the suburbs of New York and son Charlie.
When Connie bumps into a handsome Frenchman during a major windstorm while attempting to find a cab, her life changes abruptly. The man, Paul Martel, invites her to his apartment to treat her scraped knees after a fall. She becomes completely intrigued by Paul. At first she tries to resist the feelings but eventually she falls for the stranger. She invents all kinds of excuses to meet him. The inevitable happens: together they end up in a passionate affair. Eventually the deception takes its toll when Edward discovers what is going on, based on his feelings and little lies from Connie.
Director Adrian Lyne previously made high-profile films as “Fatal Attraction”, Indecent Proposal” and “9 ½ Weeks”. Despire the fact that these films may not the artistic masterpieces, they still managed to achieve reasonable commercial success. Partly due to the lack of innovation, this movie is not nearly as good as the aforementioned movies. The theme of the adulterous man or woman and the consequences for the environment does much less nowadays. The film never really wants to take on serious thriller-like forms and “Unfaithful” cannot be called excitingly erotic either. Therefore, the film, especially the first part of the film, ripples along a bit. The of the film eventually makes up for some of this.  
Richard Gere gives a reasonable performance as Edward, but Diane Lane is particularly convincing.  
“Unfaithful” is not a movie that I would rewatch, but it’s also not a terrible film. The length of the film doesn’t help here, it drags on a bit, especially at the start. But when the thriller elements enter the stage, the movie is a bit better and gets more exciting.

Rating: 3/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 81

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, but ho far will he go when that is someone he loves?
 

Drama: Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021)
On the cusp of his 30^th birthday, a promising young theater composer (Andrew Garfield) navigates love, friendship and the pressure of life as an artist in New York City.
 

Comedy: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
A bored married couple (Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt) is surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other.
 

Animation: The Croods (2013)
After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.
 

Romance: Bright Star (2009)
The three-year romance between 19^th-century poet John Keats (Ben Wishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) near to end of his life.
 

Horror: Dr. Sleep (2019)
A now-adult Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) must protect a young girl with similar powers from a cult known as The True Knot, who prey on children with powers to remain immortal.
 

Science Fiction: Transformers (2007)
An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager (Shia LaBeouf)
 

Crime: Red Notice (2021)
An interpol agent (Dwayne Johnson) tracks the world’s most wanted art thief (Ryan Reynolds)
 

Thriller: Unfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple’s (Richard Gere, Diane Lane) marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
 

Documentary: Red Sea (2016)
Explore the impressive underwater landscapes and fascinating species of one of the biggest wonders on our planet-The Red Sea. Filmed in stunning 4K, this mesmerizing nautical journey features, many of the 1,200 different sea creatures that have made the naturally and artificially formed coral reefs their home beneath these mystical waters.
 

Family: The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Two swindlers (Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline) get their hands on a map to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado.