Liaisons secrètes

I was rather surprised when I saw this love story. I found it very moving, serene and very inspired in all aspects. The perfect balance between main plot (the relationship of Douglas and Novak) and substories (writer, Douglas' wife, neighbours) is amazing. The culmination of the film is the final scene in the recently finished house that architect Douglas has designed. A very big bravo for Novak and Douglas performances, two (still) living legends. If there were only films like this in the cinemas now...

I echo the sentiment of the other reviewer. This is so much more than a soap opera...

I caught this movie on the late show about 20 years ago and if recall correctly, was going through the end of a relationship at the time. The movie struck a chord, though frankly I'm not sure why I received it's message so deeply. This is my favorite Kirk Douglas movie by far. Kirk is not known for subtlety but he's great here.

I typically judge movies by their ring of truth, and this one has it in spades.

A must see...

Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak star in this tale of love found outside of an unhappy or rather a dull, or shall we say, a trapped marriage in suburban America. Kirk is an architect who likes to build to suit his tastes rather than conform to the mundane, everyday buildings and houses that the masses use on a day to day basis. Barbara Rush is his wife, who tries to help him get jobs, but maybe she "doesn't understand him," and what he's trying to do in his career and with his life. So Kirk feels trapped by her expectations of him. Kirk meets Kim, by way of the school bus stop; they both have sons that go to school together. Kirk hears talk about Kim and her husband, who are new to the block. She is really neglected by her husband, who is not affectionate at all, and very cold to her basic needs. Kim hears talk about him, the architect and his wife. They start an alliance, when, after talking to her at the grocery store, he later invites her to see a client's vacant lot, on which a new house will be built, one he will design, obviously. She is hesitant at first, for many reasons, some of which we can guess and some we can't. One clearly is that, there is a time and place for social interaction that is acceptable. As an adult and spouse and parent, you know what your boundaries are. But when you're unhappy or find the opposite sex attractive, sometimes it feels like...maybe. She tells him to turn back as this doesn't feel right, but then she loosens up a little. Long story short, this is a movie, right? This deals with infidelity head on and doesn't hold back in its realistic portrayal of who gets hurt. Real emotion and raw feelings are brought to the surface, and we are able to see real, complicated people and the after effects of Kirk's actions. All this drama is heightened by expert actors in the leads, but Barbara Rush is particularly good as the wronged wife. And Walter Matthau gives a very understated performance as a neighbor who turns out to be an opportunist too. Having said all that, me being single and unable to really relate to this situation, I don't know that I would re-watch this. It may be more enjoyed by those who have had brief affairs. But its unsentimental treatment of the subject matter doesn't mince words with its viewers. We know what's what. But what becomes of a couple who may have gone past the point of no return? Is there a marriage that is salvageable after infidelity? "Strangers When We Meet" is about people looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places and learning from it. Hopefully, we, as viewers, can too.

In an earlier commentary I said that the only good things in this film were Barbara Rush and the final scene. Besides, Leonard Martin gives it only **1/2. Well, Leonard Maltin and I were wrong. I have just seen it once more and now I think it is a honest and real look at the dissatisfaction and crisis of the conjugal life in the middle class. The characters and scenes between Maggie and her husband are underwritten, Kirk Douglas overacts as usual, but:

Very intelligent the relation between Altar and Larry, being the first a counterpoint of the second. At last, Altar "did it" but he is alone and envies the conjugal life of his friend ("Don't throw everything away").

Very real and moving the crisis between Eve and Larry. What a good and wasted actress was Barbara Rush!, her character almost steals the show.

Other good moments: Larry stress and lack of control in the party at his home, his wife smiling and saying: "I want you sober", the fight between Larry and Felix under the rain, the cross cutting between Maggie in the kitchen as a housewife and herself putting her earrings in the motel "after the sin", etc., etc.

A great idea is the parallel between the building of the house and the love story, the beautiful visit at the house with the tape measure and the moving farewell in the already finished house.

Last but not the least, the visuals: The elegant use of the widescreen and the long takes, the smooth camera movements and tracking shots (for instance, the first scene in the Larry's kitchen or in the "tape measure" scene or at the very beginning of the film). The beautiful cinematography and color, always a pink or red spot in the frame (the Larry's jacket, a cushion in the Altar's apartment, the Maggie's dress, a fruit dish in the kitchen), etc.

Well, as you can see one can't trust his first impressions. I like this film

I was totally shocked when I saw this film as a kid, home sick from school. Here was one of my movie heroes, Kirk Douglas and the lovely Kim Novak at her sexiest, and they were NOT doing good things in their neighborhood. Ahhhhhhhhh... so THIS is what was happening while I was at school.

This "adult" themed soaper showed that Hollywood was beginning to change its tune when it came to dealing with issues like infidelity. Douglas plays a successful architect who starts an affair with Novak because he's, well, bored. Douglas' macho performance is tempered a bit and we really feel that he is in love with Novak. This isn't a tawdry affair, we're supposed to believe, because Douglas' performance is so strong. It isn't until late in the film do we realize that these types of affairs are incredibly damaging to all involved and that there are no heroes here.

For establishing a subtle ground-breaking subject matter, for a strong Douglas performance, for the neat cars and a really cool barbecue on the patio (hello 60s... you can just see the neighborhood gang out there, firing up the steaks, sipping on gin and tonics and watching a space shot on one of those metal portable TVs) and most of all for the gorgeous Kim Novak, this soaper has a little more depth than you'd expect.

Watch it.