Unfaithful (15): This pot-boiler is director Adrian Lyne's stab at the Fatal Attraction-style, slow-burning thriller. Centring on the effect of a married woman's affair on her family and, ultimately, her lover, it is a slower, more sympathetic version of the 1980s blockbuster.

Diane Lane's performance as the 'unfaithful' partner is excellent and Olivier Martinez does well as the carefree young bookseller she bumps into in the street during a storm.

While Lane merrily plays away with the randy Frenchman, Richard Gere is the unknowing husband with his usual stony-faced manner.

It is not long, however, before the seeds of doubt are sown in his mind and he decides to find out what his wife of 11 years is up to.

This is where the film really takes off and it is often painful to watch as Gere's character catches on to his spouse's activities.

He becomes tortured by the knowledge of what is going on while she is ridden with guilt. When he decides to take dramatic action, the plot's twists come thick and fast.

It is a stylish and well-made film and this carries what could easily be a hackneyed old storyline.

The performances from the three leading actors add to this,

making Unfaithful pretty compulsive viewing.

July 8, 2002 10:00