The Affair (1973)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Instant Favorite.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Ordinary TV movie that would be forgotten entirely if not for the costarring of the lead pair who had just reunited years after the end of their first storybook marriage. The film is assuredly beneath Natalie but right in Wagner's ballpark, she did it so they could work together and his feature film career was over. He offers a surface performance, she a good one although she may look the worst on screen that she ever has. Expecting during production, the baby-a daughter was named Courtney after her character, she looks bloated with a very unflattering hairdo. Still her movie star charisma shines though making this gruel better than it would have been.

Not because it is a great movie by any means even by TV movie standards...but because of the deep and abiding affection I have for the Courtney Patterson character as portrayed by the luminous Wood. Like the former commenter I was INCENCENSED by the way Marcus Simon as portrayed by empty suit (okay, he wasn't that bad) Bobby Wagner pursued this emotionally fragile woman (despite an outward bravado) took her virginity and then when she FINALLY gave herself to a man fully and fell in love for the first time he decides that she is not worth the trouble because of her difficulty dealing with his shallow friends and tells her "I cannot handle it, Court!" and then rather coldly dumps her like she is a piece of garbage...She then tries to kill herself (or was it an accident with a broken glass???) and finally her hippie brother consoles her by saying, "Well,it looks like you finally got yourself loved!!!" and then they walk out into the sunset and the movie ends...(As a polio victim she had to walk on crutches, very poignant)Well, I enjoyed the sappy song Nat sang that foreshadowed the rest of the movie and I am a fool for the whole seventies TV movie vibe but mostly the reason to see this flick is for the performance of Natalie Wood who brings dignity and defiance to the character of Courtney and we get the feeling by the end of the movie that the real emotional cripple is the RJ character who uses this great lady and gets out of the relationship when the going gets rough...I bought this public domain movie at 6.99 at Circuit City several years ago but it is available for free on Google video..it is very blurry and faded but hey, free is free...Oh, P.S. Nat was pregnant during the filming with her second daughter who she named Courtney ...:)oh, and Frances (DOOL) Reid plays Nat's mom and she sang a song (" This is your Lucky Day")in the scne where the Patterson family is enjoying Christmas

It's difficult to know who to blame for this dreary presentation. Even the best actors are disadvantaged with a poor script and I have to say that the script has to share some of the blame for this uninteresting piece of entertainment. A few times voices are raised in heated argument but on the whole the dialogue drifts along slowly and hesitantly as each character timidly explores the possibility of an affair. Natalie Wood as Courtney does well enough as the polio victim but her scenes with Marcus (Robert Wagner)were dull and vague and I felt little sympathy for either of the characters. It is true that Courtney confined herself to her own little world and was afraid to step outside of it and let some sparks fly. Some tighter direction might have helped too with Courtney delivering a greater feeling of her frustration. For me the projection of the feelings of the characters was missing. There was little drama to speak of.So don't waste your time on this one. There are plenty of good dramas around

Natalie Wood portrays Courtney Patterson, a polio disabled songwriter who attempts to avoid being victimized as a result of involvement in her first love affair, with her partner being attorney Marcus Simon, played tepidly by Wood's real-life husband, Robert Wagner. The film is cut heavily, but the majority of the remaining scenes shows a very weak hand from the director who permits Wagner to consistently somnambulate, laying waste to a solid and nuanced performance from Wood, who also proffers a fine soprano. The script is somewhat trite but the persistent nature of Wagner's dramatic shortcoming is unfortunately in place throughout, as he is given a free hand to impose his desultory stare at Wood, which must be discouraging to an actress. The progression of their relationship is erratically presented and this, coupled with choppy editing, leads the viewer to be less than assured as to what is transpiring, motivation being almost completely ignored in the writing. Although largely undistinguished, the cinematography shines during one brief scene when Wood is placed in a patio and, following the sound of a closing door, remains at the center while the camera's eye steadily pulls away demonstrating her helplessness and frailty. More controlled direction would have allowed the performers, even the limp Wagner, to scale their acting along the lines of an engaging relationship; as it was released, there is, for the most part, an immense lack of commitment.