If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Adrian Lyne has some issues with marital fidelity.  With Unfaithful, he completes his trilogy of the dangers of extramarital temptation and this could possibly be his best of the three.  The psychological aspects and reactions seem very familiar and are handled very deftly.  Lyne deals with familiar subject matter with the patience and ease of a good storyteller.  He builds things slowly, like a flame just igniting, does things believably, so much that you’re almost cheering for things not too happen when you already know they are going to.  Unfortunately he resorts to an ending which is a bit too expected and convenient and slightly lets the air out of things but the final result does not deter the fact that the resulting effort is one that is impossible not to watch, or think about once its done.

Shows the contrast and conflict between responsibility and attraction, between respect and obsession, between loyalty and passion.  It is all done so deftly that we are woven in and drawn in so much that it feels natural while feeling wrong

The meeting between husband and lover is very atypical, it is compelling and reflective of a man betrayed and curious rather than angry.  A man who is more hurt than upset as his world is unraveling around him

There is a fittingly ironic turning point dealing with the extremes of emotions and how they can drive people to unexpected actions.  At first it seemed headed towards predictability but then it veers off and keeps the suspense and intensity building.

The film is wonderful for what it does, but even more so for what it doesn’t resort to.  It shows two people, driven by emotion, grasping to hang onto their marriage while trying to justify and understand their actions.  It is deeper than a movie like this should be, but we are the beneficiaries of it

It is masterful how Lyne shows things from both perspectives equally, just when it seems he has tilted the scales one way, he effortlessly swings things back and balances them out.  It is really amazing, haunting, tragic and magical to watch.

Oddly, Lyne turns things towards typicality near the conclusion which is a bit of a detraction from the pace and attitude early on, but does not take away from the intensity and emotion that the groundwork.  It does bring things down a bit, but it is justifiable when taking the route that Lyne did so effectively to get to that point. It does setup a great scene between Lane and Gere that is resolved with simple looks, realizations, darkness, shadows and two great actors baring it all.  This is a credit to the performers and to the skill of Lyne as a visual storyteller.  He has taken a story of marital infidelity that has been done, over done and had every cliché played out, and turned it into something that is both compelling and disturbing to watch.