Ruth Wilson (brief breasts) in The Affair [S1E5]
âI would never do any nudity in a film. Why would I need to? Itâs gratuitous and unnecessary. You donât need to get naked to be recognised.” [ PW: 7478393MDNDN ]
Review: ‘The Affair’ offers nudity, Dominic West and Ruth Wilson
Whose story do you believe? Her glossy look at the handsome stranger? Or his taken on the beautiful seaside resident?
In âThe Affair,â a new series on Showtime, youâre never quite sure what is true. Did he come on to her? Or did she come on to him?
Adopting a âRashomonâ format, creator Sarah Treem never tips her hand, siding with Noah (played by Dominic West) or Alison (Ruth Wilson). Both are in seemingly good marriages. He has a wife (Maura Tierney) and family. She has a doting husband (Joshua Jackson) and a beautiful home.
They meet when Noahâs family arrives at the summer retreat where Alison is a waitress. She saves his daughter from choking. He tries to express his gratitude. Both go their separate ways and, then, their paths cross once more and itâs anyoneâs guess whoâs zooming who.
Director Jeffrey Reiner paints scenes in romantic Nicholas Sparks hues. Even when someone is seen in a negative light, the background looks good.
Westâs character has some psychological baggage (and kids who are more than a handful); Wilsonâs is grieving her sonâs death. Itâs easy to see where the cracks might exist. But Treem doesnât quite justify the dalliance, considering Tierney and Jackson have their strengths. (Should this go longer than a season, it wouldnât surprise if the spouses carried on.)
The two jump fairly quickly and, even in the retelling, donât quite explain why it all happened. In her version â which is truncated â thereâs abuse.
In both, the spouses donât seem cheat-worthy.
Is Noah afraid heâs trapped? Is Ruth worried she has no reason to live? Again, youâll ask many more questions than âThe Affairâ initially answers.
West and Wilson are fine but thereâs a disconnect when they come together. They donât seem like a natural couple. They donât even look like theyâre in the same demographic. Still, an outdoor shower proves mighty tempting and, given the second take, Jackson doesnât seem like the best guy to help his wife over the emotional hurdles she faces.
Reiner keeps the interest level high but âThe Affairâ requires much more buy-in than the pilot cares to offer. Would you really spend 10 weeks following this couple when other shows (like âScandalâ) offer random hookups on a regular basis?
It has all those cable hallmarks (yup, thereâs nudity and profanity) but they might not be enough. Somehow, other peopleâs problems are often best left with those people.