Unfaithful

For about five minutes at the beginning of its third act, this adultery-fueled sexual potboiler seems to mull over the possibility of becoming more than just a glossy, tawdry, yuppie bodice-ripper. A suburban New York couple, played with soul by Diane Lane and Richard Gere, whose marriage has come unglued because of the wife's fling with a seductive young Frenchman (Olivier Martinez), realize as their eyes meet across a crowded gathering at their home that they both know each other's worst secret and that they could be dangerous to one another. At this moment, director Adrian Lyne has a chance to twist Unfaithful into a subtle psychological puzzle, a game of trust and mistrust; but such intellectual aspirations have never been Lyne's cup of tea. The director of 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, and 1998's Lolita remake, Lyne's always been far more interested in psychosexual sensationalism than emotional-cerebral exploration. Which is why he fogs up the lens again just as he's beginning to delve more deeply into these characters' conscience. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director Adrian Lyne, the other by costars Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez); 11 deleted scenes with the options of director commentary and introduction; the 16-minute featurette “An Affair to Remember”; a segment on editing with editor Anne Coates; a 19-minute interview by Charlie Rose with Lyne, Lane and costar Richard Gere; “conversation” segments with Lane, Gere and Martinez; director's script notes; and a trailer. Bottom line: an impressive extras package for a somewhat disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Feb. 3, 2009—Fox, 123 min., R, $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2002's Unfaithful sports a solid transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the standard DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by director Adrian Lyne, the other by costars Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez), 11 deleted scenes with optional director commentary and introduction, the 16-minute featurette “An Affair to Remember,” a segment on editing with editor Anne Coates, a 19-minute interview by Charlie Rose with Lyne, Lane, and costar Richard Gere, interview segments with Lane, Gere, and Martinez, text director's script notes, and a trailer. Bottom line: although it looks good in Blu, Lyne's modern-day bodice-ripper—which received mixed reviews—is still an uneven film.]