UNFAITHFUL RECENT MOVIES FOCUS ON ADULTERY THROUGH A MORE EMPATHETIC LENS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Writer

Infidelity has been a staple of drama since Helen ran off with that boy from Troy.

And you know what that led to.

For the most part, when dramatic movies have examined the subject, the outcome has been almost as calamitous as the Trojan War. Adultery results in madness, death, even animal cruelty (and that was just ``Fatal Attraction''). Blame, guilt and recrimination rule the moral universe. Indeed, for all social conservatives' certainty that Hollywood is a hotbed of unchecked philandering, movies about cheating have pretty consistently reinforced a puritanical view of the sanctity of marriage.

Until now. A number of this season's serious movies cast empathetic eyes on unfaithful wives, husbands and partners, not necessarily condoning their affairs but trying to understand them from the participants' points of view. And while it remains true for the protagonists of ``Little Children,'' ``The Painted Veil,'' ``Notes on a Scandal'' and ``Breaking and Entering'' (the latter coming to L.A. theaters on Friday) that their indiscretions lead to suffering, forgiveness, healing and even growth are suddenly part of these films' equations.

The unasked question

``I think what's changed, kind of, in the human psyche is that the question `Why were you unfaithful?' never seems to crop up anymore,'' notes Patrick Marber, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of ``Notes'' and author of the searing mate-swapping play and film ``Closer.''

``I think there's been a global recognition on some level. In the past, dramas were about the crime of infidelity, the amazingness of infidelity. Whereas now it's more to do with the shock and the upset and the hurt of it, the anger of it, but not the injustice of it, somehow. In other words, I think we've come to recognize that this is the stuff of life, sadly. So it's not always about why anymore.''

Of course, Marber notes, ``Characters do still say `Why? Why?' We always want to know -- and yet, we know why.''

``Breaking and Entering'' writer-director Anthony Minghella agrees that society has come to understand that straying may just be part of the human condition. In his new film, a London landscape architect played by Jude Law starts an affair with Juliette Bin-

oche's Bosnian immigrant. The film goes to great lengths to depict the strains in his relationship with his live-in girlfriend (Robin Wright Penn), as well as their sincere efforts to salvage their long-term love.

Repairing the damage

``It's the capacity to feel that keeps us alive, and it's our capacity to feel which gets us into trouble,'' the filmmaker says. ``I was looking at the idea that sometimes damage to a relationship can be the thing that leads to solving other problems in the relationship.

``Without a crisis, it might otherwise stay in this state of stasis and gradually dwindle. I'm certainly not advocating that infidelity is good for a marriage, but rather that often when something jolts a relationship, it's time for reappraisal and fixing. It can be about second chances.''

That's a far cry from what happened in Minghella's best-known film, ``The English Patient,'' where illicit lovers played by Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes wound up wasting away in a desert cave and burned to a crisp, respectively. French actress Binoche won an Academy Award for her work in that ``Patient''; 15 years ago, she also starred in the punishment-minded adultery melodrama ``Damage.''

To put it mildly, Binoche finds the hints of hope and forgiveness in ``B and E'' refreshing.

``It's not judgmental,'' she says. ``Even though there's a kind of moral at the end, there's no judgment of the characters. Anthony loves them all the way they are and the way they're complex. Human beings, we have darker sides and lighter sides. We're loving and our dark sides are not easy, but you face them.''

Well, not always -- and certainly not always at the movies. Even when approached with sensitivity and understanding, infidelity can be too painful a subject for audiences who have been conditioned over the years to want movies to make them feel good.

Revenge satisfies

Ironically, the best feeling moviegoers seem to get at adultery dramas come when someone like the Glenn Close character in ``Fatal Attraction'' is killed. Addressing something as upsetting as unfaithfulness in a more reasoned, realistic way somehow makes it more disturbing on screen.

``We don't like it because it hurts,'' Binoche observes. ``We don't like it because it means jealousy. We don't like it because it involves lying. We don't like it because it shatters trust. Some people hide it longer than others and can't face the truth, and some can be very dramatic because it can lead to crime or suicide or depression. So it's a very difficult subject.''

So far, none of the current crop of adultery-based dramas has done much box-office business. ``Notes'' looks like the closest to a breakout, and it's the most harshly judgmental of the current crop.

The acclaimed ``Little Children'' has been a particularly hard sell since its release in ctober, partially because of a subplot about a creepy sex offender but also because of its sympathetic take on two cheating suburban marrieds.

``I really try and stay clear of the politics of box-office figures and what's in the top 10,'' says Kate Winslet, who's also been Oscar-nominated for playing ``Children's'' wayward wife.

``My job is to act as best as I can, and if my perception of what I do gets warped by all of that other information, I just don't think it's healthy. You just have to have faith in the product. And I do have tremendous faith in `Little Children'; I'm very proud to be a part of it.''

Naomi Watts, who plays an unfaithful English bride in the adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1920s novel ``The Painted Veil,'' finds the subject so naturally intriguing that ``I forget that I've made quite a few films that revolved around infidelity,'' she says. ``It's not like I've been seeking that out ... . But the relationship drama is endlessly fascinating to me.''

The social context

In that film, too, a shattering affair leads, via much pain, anger and loss, to a deeper bond of appreciation between a husband and wife. Getting something positive out of a relationship trauma may only be something that can happen between two people and, perhaps, their illicit lovers, but Watts suggests that the reason we're seeing more films with this attitude now might have something to do with a wider social context.

``The kitchen sink drama is interesting right now because we've got so many things going on politically, and it's nice to focus on something a little bit more intimate,'' Watts reckons. ``Perhaps that's kind of what we need to do, heal ourselves before we can heal other, bigger things in the world.''

Says Marber: ``I always think of a line from Graham Greene -- I think it's in `The End of the Affair' -- where someone says, `Aren't lovers always innocent?' I think that, generally speaking, people having affairs are looking for something that they're not getting.''

Who hasn't made that observation at some point in their lives? And how bad can it be that movies are finally catching up with it?

Bob Strauss [phone]

[e-mail]

CINEMA'S CAUTIONARY TALES

As with most emotionally charged issues, movies haven't always taken a mature, reasonable approach to adultery (except for a few moments during the Swingin' '60s, and I'm not sure maturity or reason had much to do with that).

Following are a few key examples of Hollywood's moral views on the absolute hell that's sure to be unleashed by messing around when you shouldn't. There is much to be learned about proper living from these films. One useful lesson: Keep your eye on your spouse if Jeremy Irons or Juliette Binoche is in the room.

The Graduate (1967)

Indiscretion: Aimless college grad Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) gets vamped by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the mother of the girl (Katharine Ross) he loves.

Fallout: Actually, not so bad for the young people in this very '60s tale, plus we got some great Simon and Garfunkel songs out of it. Older generation didn't fare as well.

Betrayal (1983)

Indiscretion: Woman (Patricia Hodge) cheats on her husband (Ben Kingsley) with his best friend (Jeremy Irons).

Fallout: Time literally moves backward in this adaptation of a start-at-the-end Harold Pinter play.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Indiscretion: Married Michael Douglas has a fling with aggressive singleton Glenn Close; she insists that there's a little more to it than that.

Fallout: Madness, death, boiled bunny and way too many articles explaining it's a metaphor for AIDS panic.

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Indiscretion: Otherwise upstanding Martin Landau wants his increasingly bothersome mistress (Anjelica Huston) out of the way.

Fallout: Well, murder, basically. But the only one who feels bad about it is Woody Allen.

Damage (1992)

Indiscretion: British government official (Jeremy Irons) goes ape over his son's fianc(hrt)e (Juliette Binoche), who responds enthusiastically.

Fallout: Career, marital and actual suicide.

The English Patient (1996)

Indiscretion: Hungarian aristocrat (Ralph Fiennes) has affair with British buddy's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) as World War II moves into North Africa. Despite her presence, Juliette Binoche is in no way culpable.

Fallout: Horrid disfigurement, painful, lonely deaths. Good news is the Allies win.

Unfaithful (2002)

Indiscretion: After some hesitation, relatively happy wife (Diane Lane) gives hot French guy a test drive.

Fallout: Well, murder, basically. Only Lane and hubby Richard Gere feel really, really bad about it.

-- B.S.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) No longer a scarlet letter A

Films are becoming more forgiving toward adultery

(2) Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson in ``Little Children''

(3) The Graduate

(4) Fatal Attraction

(5) Damage

(6) Unfaithful

Box:

CINEMAS CAUTIONARY TALES (see text)