Unfaithful (2002/Fox Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B+     Sound: B+     Extras: B     Film: B

 

 

Adrian Lyne’s erotic thrillers are usually hit or miss and often times are more uneven than others, but he still manages to make memorable films and artfully craft films that despite their shortcomings remain in tact enough to leave a lasting impression.  In 2002’s film Unfaithful we find ourselves in the lives of a seemingly happy suburban family with Ed and Connie Sumner (Richard Gere and Diane Lane) who live with their 8-year old son on the outskirts of New York City.  Everything seems normal and this all changes in a series of unusual events as Connie is caught in a strange windstorm where she injures her knee, but is aided by a stranger (Oliver Martinez), who she ends up in a tangled affair with after learning more about him and essentially falling for him.  It’s not that she doesn’t love her husband, but she finds things about this new man that she feels she has lost at home, the freshness.  At first Connie is able to keep the affair quiet, but when her trips to see him become more frequent her husband Ed becomes suspicious and hires a private detective to find out what is really going on. 

 

Sure enough Ed finds out and confronts the lover and in a scene that most directors would have handled perhaps different, Lyne captivates his audience with a truly amazing performance in which Richard Gere’s Ed begins a Q & A session in the apartment of her lover.  This scene changes the entire film and makes the film work in ways that it might not have otherwise by being far too clichéd.  I won’t spoil the rest of the film, but it’s a doosie. 

 

Arriving on Blu-ray Unfaithful finally gets the treatment that it deserves to really help captivate some of the wonderful cinematography by Peter Biziou, who has had an interesting career working on some Monty Python material, also worked before on Lyne’s 9 ½ Weeks and The Truman Show (reviewed here).  In this film Biziou paints a very neutral canvas with moments of warm and other moments of cool, but what is more impressive is some of the camera techniques utilized throughout to emulate some of his inspirations, there is an obvious scene in the film that takes a shot straight out of Citizen Kane when the glass globe falls to the floor.  Other interesting camera angles and cuts are utilized throughout as well to create a stirring film where sometimes you don’t know what will come next.  Presented here in a striking 1.85 X 1 transfer and in 1080p most viewers might notice right away that there is almost a sheen-like appearance throughout that is Lyne’s intentions and not a defective transfer.  This is the tone that he wanted for the film as this transfer is approved and gives a softer impression that some might have hoped for, but this is how the film looked theatrically as well. 

 

The audio presentation is in a subtle, yet powerful DTS-HD master audio 5.1 mix that demonstrates all the finer points of a lossless mix.  While this film may not boast some of the more engaging on-screen effects, it does capture the surroundings and the score in such a way that feels just right.  The entire soundstage is utilized in a variety of ways and while it doesn’t necessary sound playful, it remains sweeping, delicate, and emotional and works well for this film. 

 

There are an array of extras included that are recycled from the previous DVD edition, which were quite plentiful for a film of this magnitude.  First there is a full-length commentary by Lyne, who talks at great length about the production and even the studios interference with the film, which will still be argued whether his intentions of theirs were ultimately the result of the end product or if there was a better film that was cut into what we ended up with. 

 

There is also a section of scene-specific commentary with Diane Lane and Oliver Martinez and this portion runs over one hour in length to give great detail to their contributions to the film.  Added to that is the deleted scenes section that give the option of listening to Lyne with, there is a featurette that runs about 15-minutes on the film, plus cast interviews that runs another 20-minutes, plus a 9-minute segment on the editing of the film that is worth a view, and the Charlie Rose interview. 

 

Most will be surprised by the wealth of extras and that most of them are not the same ole boring extras, but really help bring insight into the production, the story, and the execution of making it all happen. 

 

Unfaithful is definitely worth another look, and the arrival of the Blu-ray is the perfect answer for that!

 

 

-   Nate Goss