THE REWATCHABLES · September 15, 2020
A 2002 romance / thriller / erotic directed by Adrian Lyne, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
Connie gets pulled into the Frenchman's apartment after a storm, and the hosts treat this as the affair's crucial point of no return.
About 40 minConnie's train ride and flashbacks are praised for conveying guilt, shock, and interior life through Lane's expressions.
About 40 minA social lunch becomes an Adrian Lyne-style seduction scene when Connie and Paul sneak off to the bathroom.
About 40 minThe snow-globe killing of the French lover is discussed as darkly satisfying even while being absurdly staged.
About 40 minConnie's discovery of the snow globe and Edward's confession-like confrontation are singled out for strong performances.
About 40 minEdward's carelessness with the photos in his jacket is mocked as an implausible plot device.
About 56 minBill complains that the school play scene is generic Hollywood shorthand for family happiness.
About 1:04WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsThe movie implies boredom and suburban ennui, but the motivation still feels underexplained.
Wesley MorrisThe film should have leaned harder into the marriage being bad or into a more explicit psychological reason.
Bill SimmonsThe lover is rude enough that the murder almost feels understandable inside the movie.
Wesley MorrisThe death is unjustified and the movie has to stretch to make it seem credible.
Wesley MorrisInternal Affairs is Gere's best part; Chicago is also excellent.
Bill SimmonsGere is better as a necessary ingredient than a dominant star, with some great roles but many missed opportunities.
Wesley MorrisThe earlier siren-based ending would have been stronger and more ambiguous.
Bill SimmonsThe released ending is acceptable, but the movie already has enough tension before the final scene.
Frames the film as a high-end Lifetime movie and wonders if it is the best version of that kind of story.
Opening minutesArgues that Lane is an elite actress whose career might have looked very different with better roles and timing.
Opening minutesSays Lane's appeal comes from natural likability, damage, and an almost impossible-to-fake screen quality.
Opening minutesCharacterizes Lyne as a seduction-focused visual stylist who works best when the screenplay gives him strong material.
About 24 minSees Gere as a star who often elevates other performers and occasionally lands in the right role himself.
About 1:12Enjoys the film's vibe and some scenes but repeatedly objects to the logic of the cheating and killing plot.
About 48 minFinds the apartment visit and snow-globe killing scene entertaining enough to almost justify the murder within the movie's logic.
About 48 minThinks the alternate ambiguous ending or the siren-driven near-ending would have worked better than the released version.
About 40 minFeels the film makes the suburbs look sleepy and bored, which helps explain the affair but also makes the movie feel rigged.
About 48 minLikes Lyne's apartment smoke, close-ups, and seduction-focused staging even when the plot itself is thin.
About 32 minSays he does not personally buy Martinez as a sexy object of desire in the movie.
About 56 minCalls Gere a conditional good actor whose best work depends heavily on the project and co-stars around him.
About 1:12Argues the movie is interesting as a cheat story but the murder feels like an absurd escalation rather than a convincing outcome.
About 48 minImagines her as a TV star or soap-opera lead if her career had broken differently, showing how strongly he thinks she fits domestic drama.
About 24 minThe discussion centers on how Diane Lane projects compassion, weariness, and private damage that makes audiences protect her and believe her inner life.
Opening minutesLyne's work is placed in the era when sex movies had outsized impact before internet porn and changing cultural attitudes reduced their power.
About 32 minThe hosts keep returning to whether a supposedly happy marriage can collapse arbitrarily and what real consequences cheating should have.
About 48 minThey repeatedly suggest that affluent suburban life, blonde casting norms, and conventional movie-star expectations shaped Lane's career trajectory.
About 1:04Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and described it as interested in 'two reasonably sane adults' in an almost insoluble dilemma.
About 48 minThe studio and Adrian Lyne debated whether the couple should have a bad sex life or a good one; Lyne wanted the relationship to start out happy.
About 48 minMultiple endings were shot, including one where Edward walks toward the police station; the released ending is the car-at-the-light version.
About 48 minAnne B. Coates edited the film.
About 24 minThe apartment sequences caused cast/crew bronchial irritation because of heavy smoke machines.
About 24 minLane said the repeated sex scenes left her physically and emotionally shattered.
About 1:04Lyne wanted the leads to gain weight to look like a comfortable middle-aged couple, but neither did.
About 1:04The film is based on the 1969 French film The Unfaithful Wife.
About 56 minThe movie grossed roughly $118 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.
About 48 minJennifer Lopez was offered the role and later said she would have been upset to miss the Oscar nomination.
About 56 minUsed as the benchmark erotic-thriller and comparison point for Lyne's filmography and the movie's tone.
Opening minutesJoked about as a possible all-time title holder for a Lifetime-style movie name.
Opening minutesCited as Lane's early breakout that suggested a major career ahead.
Opening minutesUsed to show Lane's early positioning alongside the next generation of stars.
Opening minutesOne of several roles Lane reportedly passed on that could have changed her trajectory.
About 8 minAnother early role Lane reportedly declined, used to illustrate her star-career crossroads.
About 8 minDiscussed as a role Lane almost took before Julia Roberts became iconic in it.
About 8 minMentioned as another near-miss role for Lane in the 1980s.
About 8 minReferenced while exploring Lane's star image and a possibly memorable final shot.
About 8 min · medium confidenceUsed as an example of a Lane vehicle that works because it feels like her rather than a role.
Opening minutesReferenced as the late-1990s film that helped reestablish Lane's value to critics and casting directors.
About 16 minCited as Richard Gere's star-making and still-discussed early lead role.
About 1:12Referenced as one of Gere's best roles and a successful star vehicle.
About 1:12Discussed as a movie in which Gere is surprisingly free and fun despite the film's awkward assembly.
About 1:12Referenced as the later TV version of this kind of adultery story, with season one praised and the show compared to Unfaithful.
About 1:12Bill and Wesley repeatedly spin alternate-career scenarios for Lane across film, TV, soaps, and different co-stars.
Opening minutesThey frame Lane as a star athlete who kept landing on the wrong team despite strong play.
Opening minutesThey joke that a Frenchman is the timeless affair archetype and try to identify who replaced him in modern culture.
About 56 minBill repeatedly invokes his mother and wife as enthusiastic viewers who love the movie and/or Richard Gere and Olivier Martinez.
About 48 minThe podcast awards-style bit names Zeljko Ivanek as the classic ever-present character actor.
About 56 min“I think Beaches might be the all-time title holder.”Opening minutes
“There's no such thing as a mistake.”About 1:20
“If a French director... had a baby”About 24 min
“Diane Lane for life.”About 1:20
“I wanted to kill you.”About 40 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Unfaithful, and three to watch next.
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