The Affair (2004)

Trapped within the modernist confines of her remote canyon home and stifling marriage to her uptight architect husband Paul (Horatio LeDon Bullet, Haunted Sea), lonely housewife Jean (Kelsey Oldershaw What Women Want, Cinema/Verite, ER) finds liberation and comfort in the arms of Viggo (Andy Mackenzie Throttle, Rock Star 101, Thank Heaven), her free-wheeling and decidedly bohemian lover. Somewhere between the extremes of her new-found freedom and the ordered structure of her marriage lies the path to true happiness... if only she can find the way.

The most wasted two hours of my life since I watched "The Ice Storm"

Oh......my.......God. What the hell is this movie about? The lead character is completely infuriating. Jesus, woman, if you are so damn bored then go get a job instead of wandering around in your house feeling sorry for yourself and going out spending your husband's money! I have absolutely no connection to this character. Is it too much to ask that she have some initiative, take some responsibility for the state of her life instead of blaming it all on her husband? And then she tries to solve her problem by sleeping with a tatooed, drug-using scumbag with no job, for whom she has to pay the rent on his bathroomless trailer?

Disjointed, badly written, indiscernible motivation for most characters and events, and a really obvious attempt at forcing an unrealistically libertarian philosophy of relationships. Real people do not relate to each other like this, at least, none that I have ever met.

Don't waste your time on this movie. March 12, 2007

If we only cared about the characters....

Belgian Carl Colpaert has a solid reputation as the founder of CINEVILLE Releasing, as a producer of some very fine small films (Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Where Eskimos Live, Surviving Eden, Hurlyburly, etc) and has directed and written a few less interesting ones. This film THE AFFAIR (originally titled TOPANGA) tries hard to be a European flavored examination of relationships, but for this viewer it falls short not only in story (scripted by Colpaert and Lisa Larrivee) and in a fuzzy cast of TV actors, but also in the directorial stance of being in control of a story that needs a lot of attention.

Jean (Kelsey Oldershaw) is a bored housewife living in a designer house with her architect husband Paul (Horacio Le Don), a man of success who is so self-centered and controlling that he forgets his relationship obligations to his wife. Jean has residual scars from a traumatic childhood experience and her needs go beyond the wifely role, searching for some degree of excitement, passion and fulfillment not available in her marriage. At a local dance club she meets Viggo (Andy Mackenzie), a bohemian passionate, live for the moment guy who sweeps Jean off her feet in an affair that produces disaster in her marriage. The story concentrates on the intricacies of this love triangle, offering alternative ways to approach love, needs, and responsibilities.

The notion is solid (if quite over used) and there are aspects of the film that suffuse the atmosphere with tension and artsy techniques. But in the end the story and the actors elude our concern and we are left feeling like window peeping voyeurs, wondering why we are sneaking a peek.
Grady Harp, January 06
January 4, 2007

A Great Concept Movie

Well, I loved this movie. I loved the way the director and actors negotiated the trepidations of the story and the way Jean and Viggo discovered themselves. This is an all around great story about humanity and a must-see for anyone searching for love.

September 2, 2004

A Truly Beautiful Film

The atmosphere in The Affair is dreamlike, accentuating the characters' internal feelings and how they see their surroundings, rather than simply showing the city as it really is. The film's greatest strength comes from its sad wisdom about relationships and the way its protagonists recognize how precarious their connection is. September 1, 2004

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