Reel Critics

Diane and Igal Silber

We were so disappointed in this film.

Made by Adrian Lyne, the same director that made “Fatal Attraction,”

we had really looked forward to seeing it. With Richard Gere (Edward) and

Diane Lane (Connie) it should have been good. Instead, it’s a really bad

film with no redeeming features.

This story of a marriage where the wife’s impulsive affair with a

stranger is discovered by her husband and is boring and not true to the

nature of human behavior.

We found it hard to understand either the motivation for the wife’s

behavior or for that matter her husband’s. Only the character of Paul,

the lover, rings true -- he’s a womanizer, self indulgent and uncaring.

He knows what he wants and goes after it with no regard for the needs of

others -- even the object of his lust.

The script is poorly written with no insight into the motivation of

women and why they have affairs. This felt like a man’s fantasy of a

woman’s affair, assuming lust as the primary force. Most women of

Connie’s type and life situation (unlike Glen Close’s character in “Fatal

Attraction”) succumb to passion after first developing an emotional bond

with their potential lover, often when their emotional needs aren’t being

met in the marriage -- not out of boredom or lust. The capriciousness of

her actions would have fit a man better (as it did with Michael Douglas

in “Fatal Attraction”).

Although written by a man, the behavior of the husband is no easier to

understand. This is a successful, intelligent, sensitive and in-control

guy who suddenly loses his ability to control his actions. While crimes

of passion are certainly not new, this felt out of character and false.

Watching the attempt to gloss over the marital wounds and get on with

their lives is no more interesting. The film was slow and felt endless.

Had we not wanted to write this review we would have walked out.

* Diane and Igal Silber are Laguna Beach residents and avid film

buffs.