The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Wow! What a talent! Wonderful and thought-provoking movie. Lane and Gere are truly amazing together!

Diane Lane cheats on husband Richard Gere with hunky Olivier Martinez, hence the title of the film. Based on the much smarter Claude Chabrol film "La Femme infidèle," this American remake directed by Adrian Lyne ("Indecent Proposal" "Fatal Attraction") is slickly made, but lacking in any depth, outside of the dramatic sutuation. The film was adapted by Alvin Sargent, who's written everything from "Paper Moon" to "Ordinary People" to the recent Marvel Spider-Man films and also by William Broyles Jr. (Appollo 13" and "Flags of Our Fathers"), so you might have expected a better script, and Lyne is a director who's films are typically only as good as his scripts. The Chabrol film presented a routine marriage reinvigorated by the husband's murder of his wife's lover, but Lyne's film doesn't go anywhere that dark and ends on a rather ambiguous note. What "Unfaithful" does feature is an excellent performance by Diane Lane, who really carries the water for the film. Lane makes her character's choices and actions believable, elevating what could have easily been an empty-headed Zalman King "Red Shoes Diaries" type of softcore film to something more interesting. She makes her character's inner conflict palpable and pulls the audience into her character's justifications for her choices, right or wrong. Besides Lane, the film also benefits from a fine score by composer A.P. Kaczmarek and lush photography by Peter Biziou. Lyne is an interesting commercial director who poses interesting questions and situations in his films, but most lack the depth to be considered much beyond commercial entertainment ("Jacob's Ladder" being the exception). Overall, this is a mediocre story that's vastly elevated by a strong performance by Lane. I may be biased in favor of this film because I've had a crush on Diane Lane ever since I was 11-years old and I saw her in "Six Pack" with Kenny Rogers.

Affairs of the "Heart", or more Precisely the Libido have a way of Biting You in the Ass. Like a Friend of Diane Lane's "Connie' says at Lunch, "Affairs never end well, there always a disaster".This is the Kind of Stuff (Smoldering, Sexy, Artsy, and Suspenseful) that Director Adrian Lyne is known. Comparisons to "Fatal Attraction" (1992) and "9 1/2 Weeks" (1986) are Expected.But "Unfaithful" stands on its own because, well because this Type of Thing Taps into a "Basic Instinct" that is One of the "Seven Deadly Sins" (Lust). It's part of the Human Condition and We're Hard Wired with it, Like it or Not, so Everyone can Relate in One Form or Another.The Director's Flourishes Help make this a "Pleasant" Watch with the Camera Making Love to the Images. Richard Gere and the rest of the Cast all Contribute to the Downbeat Tone. The Ending is Ambiguous and that's OK, often times Life is Ambiguous. Should more than Please its Target Audience. Some Sexy Stuff is in Full View, so Prudes and the Easily Embarrassed might want to Pass. But for those Willing to take the Ride, the Movie is as Well Crafted and Good Looking as Diane Lane's Performance and Down Home Beauty.

Go search 'The Unfaithful Wife' (1969) and read the plot summary.. except for a couple of changes, the plot-line is pretty much identical. After all there are only so many story lines, and they must get repeated over and again. This 2002 version does it pretty well (have not yet viewed the '69 film). Of course, it would have been more realistic for Gere's character to have immediately come clean, but the story had to continue on for another few drawn out scenes. The one character in the film that just did not fit in was the kid. Just could not come to grips with the genetics of a Lane and Gere winding up there. And the ending is a cop-out... they should have had it go one way or the other.