You have to give Natalie Wood credit for trying a different type of role in this poorly written T.V. movie where the hero and heroine have such sudden change of moods, you'd think that somebody would have come up with the term "Bi-Polar" long before it entered the English language. Ms. Wood, so self-aware of her short-comings as an actress, was noted for showing up to accept her award for winning "Worst Actress of the Year" for several films during the 1960's, and yet kept trying to improve her method, sometimes with, yet usually without, success.
In the case of "The Affair", she plays a handicapped woman, both physically and mentally, who attempts without success to keep herself from falling in love with her father's handsome business associate (real-life husband Robert Wagner). When she first meets him, she goes out of her way to ridicule him, but no sooner has she let out her first insult than she's involved in a hot and heavy affair with him. But when he gets serious, she wants to take a step back, and when she starts to get serious, he's ready to bail. This makes their relationship quite confusing, something sad to say also became a part of their off-screen marriage.
Natalie makes herself look a lot less glamorous than normal, wearing an unbecoming hairstyle and less make-up. At first, it is even hard to recognize her. The chemistry between Wagner and Wood is mixed, much like most of the Taylor/Burton pairings which go to prove that off-screen relationships don't always have the best on-screen magic. The best performance comes from Bruce Davison as Wood's free-spirited brother. Fans of "Days of Our Lives" will be delighted to spot matriarch Alice Horton (Frances Reid) in a bit part as Wood's mother.
In the case of "The Affair", she plays a handicapped woman, both physically and mentally, who attempts without success to keep herself from falling in love with her father's handsome business associate (real-life husband Robert Wagner). When she first meets him, she goes out of her way to ridicule him, but no sooner has she let out her first insult than she's involved in a hot and heavy affair with him. But when he gets serious, she wants to take a step back, and when she starts to get serious, he's ready to bail. This makes their relationship quite confusing, something sad to say also became a part of their off-screen marriage.
Natalie makes herself look a lot less glamorous than normal, wearing an unbecoming hairstyle and less make-up. At first, it is even hard to recognize her. The chemistry between Wagner and Wood is mixed, much like most of the Taylor/Burton pairings which go to prove that off-screen relationships don't always have the best on-screen magic. The best performance comes from Bruce Davison as Wood's free-spirited brother. Fans of "Days of Our Lives" will be delighted to spot matriarch Alice Horton (Frances Reid) in a bit part as Wood's mother.