I’ve heard some people criticize Unfaithful for not explaining exactly why Diane Lane’s Connie Sumner character would cheat on her loving and well-meaning husband Edward (played by Richard Gere). Along with the care and attention Edward gives her, he also earns a good living and they live in a beautiful house. What more could she want? Well, on the day I saw this film the audience was almost three-quarters women -- and many of them were seeing this on their own. Obviously, cheating is a hot topic on some people’s minds. And judging by what I saw in that audience, when Connie’s love interest Paul Martel (Oliver Martinez) literally blows into the picture, the answer is clear.

Connie meets Paul on an extraordinarily windy day in New York. She hurts herself on the sidewalk in front of his apartment, so he invites her in to help out. She initially declines, but then accepts. Although their attraction is immediate, the affair doesn’t start right away. She goes home, tells her husband about the incident, and then continues to think about Paul. The next day she makes a bumbling excuse to see him again and soon after that they’re having sex in positions you really only see in the movies. Even though a friend eventually warns her that affairs always end disastrously, she continues on.

I really liked Unfaithful because it is not a conventional thriller. Director Adriane Lyne also made Fatal Attraction and I suspect many will think that they’re in for the same type of story. Yet this is not at all like that. Yes, Connie’s husband does find out about the affair. But the way each of the parties handles it is surprising. Unfaithful ends up being more about the relationship of Connie and her husband Edward than anything else. And what helps this film tremendously is the topnotch acting by Lane and Gere.

Lane simply sizzles. She’s smart and sexy, and it’s easy to see why the young Paul would be so attracted to her. She also plays Connie in such a see-through way that we know and understand everything she’s thinking. There’s a wonderful scene that occurs right after she’s had sex with Paul for the first time. She’s riding home on the subway and is half sad, half ecstatic, and thoroughly confused. The camera just watches her as she channels through a range of emotions. She doesn’t have to say a thing but you know exactly what she’s thinking. Although Lane has been acting for decades, this film is somewhat of a breakout for her.

Gere is also very good, and he’s left behind most of his Gere-isms when playing Edward (except for the fast-flicking eyelids he always uses when he’s experiencing distress). Over 20 years ago he played Julian Kaye in American Gigolo -- a guy who did the same type of thing that Connie’s lover does here. Now Gere plays the over-40 husband and he’s good at it. His confrontation with Paul is one of the most memorable moments of Unfaithful.

The first half of Unfaithful is almost flawless. I was completely lost in the world of these three characters. Then in the second half some big things happen, but the momentum is lost a bit and the film stutters some. It’s good, but it slows down. Still, the end result is well worth seeing and Unfaithful gets a ***1/2 rating.

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