The Affair

Belgian Carl Colpaert has a solid reputation as the founder of CINEVILLE Releasing, as a producer of some very fine small films (Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Where Eskimos Live, Surviving Eden, Hurlyburly, etc) and has directed and written a few less interesting ones. This film THE AFFAIR (originally titled TOPANGA) tries hard to be a European flavored examination of relationships, but for this viewer it falls short not only in story (scripted by Colpaert and Lisa Larrivee) and in a fuzzy cast of TV actors, but also in the directorial stance of being in control of a story that needs a lot of attention.

Jean (Kelsey Oldershaw) is a bored housewife living in a designer house with her architect husband Paul (Horacio Le Don), a man of success who is so self-centered and controlling that he forgets his relationship obligations to his wife. Jean has residual scars from a traumatic childhood experience and her needs go beyond the wifely role, searching for some degree of excitement, passion and fulfillment not available in her marriage. At a local dance club she meets Viggo (Andy Mackenzie), a bohemian passionate, live for the moment guy who sweeps Jean off her feet in an affair that produces disaster in her marriage. The story concentrates on the intricacies of this love triangle, offering alternative ways to approach love, needs, and responsibilities.

The notion is solid (if quite over used) and there are aspects of the film that suffuse the atmosphere with tension and artsy techniques. But in the end the story and the actors elude our concern and we are left feeling like window peeping voyeurs, wondering why we are sneaking a peek. Grady Harp

(2004) Topanga/ The Affair DRAMA

"It's not you- it's me!" excuse routine, with co-written and directed by Carl Colpaert has good for nothing, childless wife Jean (Kelsey Oldershaw) yearning for more attention since her successful workaholic architect husband, Paul (Horacio Le Don) is spending less time with her. Well, duh! As a result of feeling unfulfilled, she picks up and makes out with a care free, free spirited bumm, Viggo (Andy Mackenzie) she met at a house dance party, who sleeps in a van and owes people money. This as a result of filling unfulfilled of not having any children to satisfy her mom as opposed to her other siblings.

I hate movies in which one spouse has the affections all wrapped around a persons finger. In this case, it's Jean who has Paul wrapped in her little finger like she has him on a leash, in which she cheats on him with zero consequence- he does not even cheat on her as he has a job and she doesn't. The first time Jean cheats on her husband, he had the opportunity to divorce her, and it's not even a consideration, as she believes she has earned the money he brings home for cheating on him. He should be grateful he does not have any kids with her and end up in the Maury Povich show, for she would have sued him for spousal support. So what does Paul do, he becomes a whiner, like, there are thousands of other single woman who would not mind being with a successful architect and yet, all of his affections is geared toward her, as if she is the last woman on earth . Jean is a skank who does not mind exploiting the money he brings home on her extra-marital affairs. It is quite obvious those marriage vows meant absolutely nothing to her, for she just blatantly gives $1,500 to her good for nothing new lover. I agree with one of the viewers who said it's a movie that attempts to be an European movie but fails in almost aspect.

. no one talks like these people ... no one acts like these people ... from one moment to the next they're continually doing-saying things not making much of any sense ... evenly inconsistent throughout ... not the worst film of whatever genre it is, yet coming very-close to being unwatchable

... take-a-way the unnecessary pauses and half the film gets chopped-off ... film's been around now couple decades and never have come across it before now... kinda wishing had not at all ... twenty years and with little more than one hundred thirty IMDb ratings.. that'll tell ya more than anyone putting required number of characters to print.

Nice video quality, some pretty places and pretty faces.

Writing was almost as good as an after school special written by high school students.

The acting wasn't.

Couldn't force myself to finish yet another bad movie.

Besides the Hollywood star-power I found this very grown up story great to watch and amazingly true to a society that needs to accept the power of passion and love. A commitment to finding an inner truth in a women of the present day! Kelsey Oldershaw convinces and finds great company with Andy McKenzie and Horatio LeDon. The look of this movie is so perfect and the mood is so unpretentious as I did not see it in a long time since the best relationship dramas from France at their peak in the early 70- s. The whole environment is so very true to the contemporary situation in a troubled or maybe every relationship as questions and situations of truth and motivation come to a surface and find adults often unprepared. A very beautiful film that does still leave a lot of room to enjoy and listen and reflect into personal experiences.