I am sitting alone in the quiet of my house. Watching several movies that are speaking to me. The first one is Family Man and the second is Unfaithful.
In Unfaithful, Richard Gere nailed the part of the torn husband, Edward. I sense the pain in his voice and eyes. This movie has always been disturbing for me to watch.
When Edward finds the snow globe that he had given his wife who re-gifted it to her lover, his pain becomes visceral and raw. Unrelenting. Complete anguish. Broken. No words are necessary. Resolute and finally he kills the lover with his bare hands
While sitting in the apartment with the dead lover, Edward realizes what he has done and begins to frantically clean up the blood and wipe off his fingerprints. Then he hears his wife’s break up over the answering machine saying she can’t live like this and that the affair is over. He then tends to the body. The lover’s dead body is in the trunk of his Mercedes when he pulls into his daughter’s school to watch a play. He cleans up the blood from his body and then joins the wife in the audience. She touches his hands as she watches their son’s solo. They cry together and then he looks at his wife and puts his arm around her. A hug is given and you can feel the husband resign himself to his family. She is visibility relieved as she melts into him.
He disposes of the body and begins the cleansing ritual. To remove the stain from his life. Then he begins to pretend everything is fine
The music accents his torment. Pain. Fear.
This movie has me paralyzed. I see so much of my own life in it. I see a man who would do anything for his family, his wife. He puts his family in a perfect house, in the perfect location, gives them everything, and she spat in his face. But yet, still he loves her.
Edward watches his wife lie to the police and the couple exchanges a look of knowing. Connie is told her lovers body was found. As the police begin to press her, Edward cuts them off. He becomes her protector, even in her great betrayal. After the police leave, he gives her space and watches Connie cry for her lost lover.
Then, later, she is confronted with the fact Edward does indeed know of her affair when she discovers the private eye’s pictures in his jacket. She is starting to realize what Edward has done for her, for them, for the family. Then back at the house, Connie sees the snow globe that she had given the lover. And then her fear is confirmed, she knows Edward, killed for her.
“I gave you everything. That’s right everything and what did you do? You threw it all away, like it was nothing. For what? He’s a fucking kid! You think, I wouldn’t know. Wouldn’t feel it. I knew from the very first day, because I know you Connie. I know you and I fucking hate you. I didn’t want to kill him, I wanted to kill you!”
“Oh my God”
Crying –sniff— sigh
“Edward, oh my God”
Anguish
Silence in the house.
“We can get through this one day at a time.
They live “in the moment” every day realizing how precious their remaining time is …Passion and despair comingles.
At the end of the movie, they are sitting in front of the police station.
“We could get some money and disappear. Mexico. We could fish all day. Take a small house at the beach. We could spend the rest of our life on that beach. When we die, we can just push their body out to sea. How does that sound? Perfect.”
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