Touches You

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"The Unfaithful Wife" is the very definition of the word "slow-burner" this means that if you enjoy fast paced, big budget, high concept films packed full of decapitations, fast car chases and thrilling pursuits then this is not for you. However, if you're like me and do enjoy all of those things but also appreciate brilliant direction and cinematography and replace a body count with atmosphere and tension now and again then I think that you should really admire the well crafted work done here by the brilliant Chabrol.Not a lot happens in "The Unfaithful Wife" as it is centred around one thing, a marriage in despair and a jealous husband, however like other great films it manages to remain gripping and masterful. I really liked the idea of the story and Chabrol plays it out in a Hitchcock fashion, although I find Hitchcock quite overrated and only really enjoying "Psycho" but Chabrol pans the story out in a suspense fashion and when the husband does murder his wife's lover it has a fabulous realism about it. The tension remains high and the suspense is bursting through the roof! but, unlike my family, you have to be willing to look out for brilliant directing techniques.The cinematography is excellent, it captures the central characters and the breaking down of the marriage very intensely, adding to the gripping nature of the film. Chabrol has crafted something quite brilliant here and although it might not be as good as his others like "The Beast Must Die" it still has a fantastic realism about it. Give it a go!

Claude Chabrol is sometimes known as 'The French Hitchcock', and while the two didn't exactly make the same type of thriller; it's easy to see where the comparisons come from, and both of these great directors are masters of their crafts! This is only the third Chabrol film I've seen, but once again I'm extremely impressed and looking forward to seeing more! Though I have limited experience of his films, Chabrol's thrillers to me are more brooding and personal than Hitchcock's; and while they lack the brazen thriller element that made most of Hitchcock's oeuvre so good to watch, it's made up for in panache and intrigue! The Unfaithful Wife puts its focus on an upper class French family in a big mansion somewhere just outside of a big city. We follow them for a short while until it becomes obvious to the husband that his wife's constant trips into town are a clue that she is having an affair. The husband then decides to hire a private detective to investigate his wife, and after having his fears concerned; the husband turns up at the lover's house with murder in mind...The film appears to be so relaxed that at times you may wonder whether you are actually watching a thriller. But that is what makes this film so effective; Chabrol often lets his film settle, but there is always tension bubbling beneath the surface and the film is always intriguing, even when there is little going on. I won't spend too long talking about the acting and production values as obviously both are thoroughly professional and give the film infinite amounts of credibility. Most of the action focuses on the couple inside their big house and this benefits the film greatly as we soon get to know the characters. The central scene is clearly the murder sequence, although again Chabrol focuses on the build up rather than the actual pay off and the murder is as cold and brutal as it was obviously intended to be. The Unfaithful Wife is clearly a lesson in how suspense cinema should be; even more subtle than Hitchcock, this film manages to be constantly fascinating in spite of the fact that not a great deal transpires over the course of the film, and once again it's another great film on Chabrol's resume!

The Unfaithful Wife seems to be separate, but over lapping stories: like minimally invasive Venn Circles. The premise is divided: France's socially passive nes'pas attitude and fundamental acceptance of extramarital affairs, contrasted with one parties fundamental and conventional recognition of fidelity.The center piece of cohesion in the film is the married couple have a child. wife learns illegitimate lover also has offspring. This seems to create a divisive consternation within her. The lover distances himself from attentive loyalty to his progeny, to which the unfaithful wife cannot accede. There is a specific statement made by the unfaithful wife that is the recognition of true separateness from lover back to husband. The end is a surprise.SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS Overall, the themes are humanly dense and rich. But one must repeatedly watch this movie to ascertain the potential motives of each character. This movie is closer to a GREAT DRAWING PROMO or TRAILER, THAN A COMPLETE MOVIE. Excellent diversity of prototypes, realistic themes, very good acting======lacks expressive character depth This final one flaw is equivalent to a hot air balloon, with no hot air. You understand the concept, but never realize its human experience beauty in completion. A B&W remake would be really interesting.

I found the remake with Richard Gere and Diane Lane ("Unfaithful") intriguing in the way it explored the erotic pull the woman feels to her lover. It was very good at that. Most of the early scenes, especially any with Diane Lane, were very well done. Where Gere dominated a scene, on the other hand -- whether because of his acting, or flawed script or direction, I couldn't tell -- the movie felt phony and forced. Now I know why. "Unfaithful" tries to exploit Chabrol's powerful storyline, but wants to go in its own direction, too. For instance, the woman in the story is not nearly as central in Chabrol's movie. The story there is really about her husband, and his predicament at discovering that his perfect wife is having an affair. The wounded husband is much more believable here, and thus the murder scene does not feel as lurid as when Gere bludgeons Martinez in the remake. The method of striking blows to the head is the same, yet we understand the meaning of the blows perfectly in Chabrol's original, and the scene immediately previous, when the rivals meet and discuss the affair in the lover's apartment, feels very real and organic in Chabrol (though it is still surprising to find that the husband has come to confront the lover). By contrast, in the remake, Olivier Martinez plays that scene as part civilized troglodyte and part insouciant brat; Gere comes off as bordering on schizophrenia, or about to suffer a conniption -- a cuckold who's so de-eroticized that his sudden rage reads more as psychopathy. In a movie that purports to be about a crime of passion, the quality of passion feels more like a horror that has gone "off kilter" somehow. The scene is jarring, but not in ways that move the film along.Having seen both movies now, I do feel like I at least understand how the story might have seemed a good candidate for a remake. La femme Infidele is so good...It's so good I hardly thought I was watching a movie at all, but living in this story right along with the characters, albeit as troubled observer. It's a movie about the private conclusions that we come to, perhaps selfishly, that we don't share even with the people closest to us, perhaps because we are ashamed of our darkest feelings, those too taboo to admit.There is a sense that the story's protagonists do feel shame somehow (even in the embarrassingly relieved way the lover welcomes the visit from the husband) but are all too human in the end. There is a sense of desire that emanates from all the characters, who all happen to be pretending at playing one game or another while keeping secrets from one another. Even the perfect little boy is shown to be caught up in his own storms, to the extent that his role in the movie is as more than a signifier of a healthy, prosperous family's bourgeois pride. At one point he explodes at his parents, during a tense evening, yelling at them that he hates them both.This reading of the self in the throes of a very deep, selfish passion -- while at the same time trying to maintain appearances -- is masterful in Chabrol's movie, and I came away from it believing in the reality of these characters completely.I can't seem to put it into words too well, but I was very impressed with the understated way this movie examines the tensions that simmer under the surface of family relationships. This is the first movie I have seen by Chabrol and I have to say-- as someone who's seen my fair share of movies touted as "masterpieces" that turn out to be middling -- my faith in the power of film as a storytelling medium is renewed by this piece.