Similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but better.
9/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
4 November 2013
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
When "The Adultress" (a.k.a. "Thérèse Raquin") begins, you soon see a big problem. Young Thérèse (Simone Signoret) and her wimpy husband Camille live with his mother--and this mother babies him and dominates the household. This awful woman insists that it's a woman's duty to serve her husband and romance has no place in marriage!
The marriage is clearly a ponderous existence. It's obvious any sane wife would soon get sick of this sort of nothing life--and, not surprisingly, Thérèse does, though she does not yet realize it. It all begins to change when a virile working-class man, Laurent (Raf Vallone) brings the husband home one night when the husband is drunk. Laurent and Thérèse meet and things slowly begin to smolder. And, like in "The Postman Always Rings Twice", the lovers decide they cannot continue like this--and eventually they do away with Thérèse's emasculated husband. Of course, that's not the end of the story.
While you might think the film borrowed from James Cain's novel, the story is actually much older (and Cain might have been inspired to write "The Postman Always Rings Twice") and is from an Emil Zola novel. The parallels are certainly obvious. However, in "The Adultress" you actually feel sorry for the wife and given the awfulness of the husband and his mother, you CAN sympathize and almost excuse the killing--especially since it was not premeditated.
In the other, however, the wife is essentially an awful conniver and the husband, though old, is a decent and loving man. I actually think the way "The Adultress" constructs the story this is better, as it's much easier to connect with the characters and care about their fates. You don't so much excuse their actions but understand and empathize a bit for them.
Plus, Thérèse is the opposite of Cora (from "The Postman")--she DOES have a conscience and she is not exactly evil. Overall, "The Adultress" is an excellent film with exceptional performances. I also loved the moral ambiguities about the film--ambiguities that make the viewer think. I also appreciated the very unusual and very surprising ending--it's worth it!
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Triangle ends in death and blackmail
8/10
Author: filmtherapy from United States
11 November 2012
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
A woman (Therese) brought up by an aunt and more or less forced to marry her whiny sickly pasty fleshed cousin (Camille) has resigned herself to a dull gray loveless life working in a small fabric shop owned by her mother in law. Through accident she meets Laurent who makes a play for her and becomes her lover.
This love affair intensifies and Laurent pressures Therese to leave Camille...there is a confrontation between the members of this triangle on a train and Camille is accidentally killed when an enraged Laurent pushes him off the train in a scuffle.
His death is ruled accidental and all would seem to be OK until a witness shows up to blackmail the couple. The movie presents the essential theme of the original Zola novel. In the book the lovers grow to hate each other as they wait for things to cool down after Camille's death (they drown him) and there is much more twisted psychological drama between them and the mother in law.
However this is a tight nice story in this form and the movie has 3 attractive good actors and is suspenseful fun entertainment.RECOMMENDed
