Hot at the box office, the heat of battle and a sizzling story of adultery
Spider-man****
We Were Soldiers**
(rated R, 155 mins.)
Based on the book by Lt. General Harold G. Moore—and reteaming director/writer Randall Wallace of Braveheart with Mel Gibson—this is the story of boot camp, 1964, long before Americans had a sour taste in their mouths over the Viet Nam War. Lt. General Moore (Gibson) is a conservative, suburban, Catholic father of five about to lead a battalion of men into battle. His wife (Madeline Stowe), along with other women, fear losing their husbands. Moore, a history buff, reminisces that the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry is the same regiment as General Custer’s. This battle feels like Little Big Horn all over again. Like Black Hawk Down, the message seems to be that these men fought not for their country but for each other. But unlike recent war flicks, this story stands out because it documents the first major encounter of American soldiers with North Vietnamese. Wallace having taken the old-fashioned approach to combat flicks, we are offered the opportunity to “know” these men and their families, though it might be said that the director went a bit overboad in the sap department. Still, Sam Elliot’s portrayal as deadpan, crusty and stern Sargeant Plumley and Greg Kinnear’s skillful interjection of humor into war make for engaging characters. It’s not a bad movie; it’s just a movie about men trying to survive.
Unfaithful***
(rated R, 124 mins.)
Based on the 1969 film La Femme Infidèl, Adrian Lyne’s (Fatal Attraction, 91/2 Weeks) scorching new drama is another of the director’s studies of adultery and betrayal. This time, however, there is a refreshing twist: the woman has the affair. Bored with everyday, car-pool suburbia, Connie Sumner (Diane Lane) runs into a French book dealer, Paul Martel (Olivier Martinez), the kind of guy of every oven-cleaning housewife’s fantasies. An affair ensues, proving husband Edward’s (Richard Gere) suspicions. Lyne certainly knows how to juggle love triangles, steamy sex and tension. The screenplay is full of slow, lusty dialog and Lyne uses a dimly lit palette that avoids glamorizing either Connie’s mundane life or her very typical affair. Gere, who we’re used to seeing as the stud who gets the woman, is instead the attentive husband, believable, soft, gentle and likable. Lane, who carries the movie’s weight on her bare shoulders (and butt), is saucy and attractive, mixed with the right dose of high-wired energy. She’s you and me. She’s any wife or mother. (And, she’s now going to be a huge star!) As for the handsome Martinez, he’s pure, hot magic.
