Cast: Laura San Giacomo, Paul Rhys, Cristi Conaway, Fisher Stevens, Michael O'Keefe
Director: Alan Jacobs
Producers: Jane Hernandez and Alan Jacobs
Screenplay: Alan Jacobs
Cinematography: Phil Parmet
Music: Todd Boekelheide
U.S. Distributor: Triumph Pictures
Nina Takes a Lover is about, well, Nina (Laura San Giacomo) taking a lover (Paul Rhys). This slow-moving, somniferous film has its moments, but strong performances and a few good ideas can't counterbalance poor pacing and a narrative that relies upon cheap trickery and an artificial plot twist. Nina Takes a Lover contains the seeds of a fascinating motion picture, but writer/director Alan Jacobs allows few of them to germinate.
The two main characters are Nina, a rather ordinary, married young woman, and a mysterious British photographer, who remains nameless. Over a three week period while Nina's husband is away on a business trip, these two meet, become friends, sleep together, then enter into a passionate affair. Their relationship follows accepted romantic formulas, at least until Jacobs presents us with a surprising revelation during the movie's final third. Unfortunately, while this "shocker" raises some interesting possibilities, it seems forced and contrived, and is at variance with some of what previously transpired.
A subplot involving Nina's nameless best friend (Cristi Conaway), who's having an affair with an unshaven lothario by the name of Paulie (Fisher Stevens), is intended to present a different perspective of extramarital relationships. Unfortunately, since neither of these characters are well- realized, scenes involving them become more distracting than helpful. Paulie is supposed to be a source of comic relief; in reality, he's an irritation.
To be fair, there are some aspects of Nina Takes a Lover that I genuinely appreciated. Giacomo (sex, lies, and videotape) and Rhys (Chaplin) give understated, feeling performances that lend warmth and depth to their characters. The two generate some chemistry, although its works better in the quiet, romantic scenes than during those charged with blatant eroticism. Their meeting is charming, as is a sequence when they ask each other about what would make them better lovers.
Nina Takes a Lover trifles with the question of why men and women have affairs, although it stops short of a legitimate exploration. Nina seems to be involved largely for the electricity and newness of the situation. In one scene, where she's fixing a meal for her lover, she remarks how exciting the simple act of cooking has become under these circumstances. There's also the issue of intimacy. Nina claims that she has come to understand more about her lover in three weeks than she has learned about her husband in the same number of years.
Rather than presenting events in a straightforward manner, Jacobs instead provides us with a helpful journalist (Michael O'Keefe), whose sole purpose seems to be to allow the story to unfold as a series of disjointed flashbacks. The journalist, who, like just about everyone else in this movie, doesn't have a name, is researching extramarital affairs, and Nina agrees to recount her tale. As a result, we are subjected to one of the most overused motion picture constructs: the voiceover narrative.
Without the rather unexpected twist near the end, Nina Takes a Lover might have offered more than a shadow of substance. Sure, at times it moves turgidly, but pacing isn't everything. However, by trying to be clever, Jacobs messes everything up. The film's internal logic is shattered, and we're left scrambling to reconcile early scenes and statements with later ones. So, instead of leaving Nina Takes a Lover in a state of relative satisfaction, we depart with the feeling that, somehow, we have been cheated.
© 1996 James Berardinelli