I watch way too much television. It's a real problem. Clearly I should instead be studying.
But I am going to write this review anyway.
The Affair, where do I start?
What peaked my interest to watch this series was both Ruth Wilson (Alison) and the series winning a Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Best Drama Series respectively. I thought let's check this out. So I did.
The plot
A middle age novelist(Noah) with his wife and four unruly children leave NYC to go stay with his in-laws in the Hampton's for the summer. While on their way to there they stop at a diner in town. The waitress (Alison) saves his youngest daughter from choking. He then becomes obsessed with her and meets up with her as she is his "tour guide" for the Hamptons which is the backdrop for the new book he is writing. Alison is a waitress who used to work at the local hospital and a few years ago lost her son when he drowned. Both are happy in their marriage however, they both need a break; Noah from his overbearing in-laws whom he is staying with and his children and Alison from her husband who has a tattoo of an angel on his body that constantly reminds her of her loss. Additionally after getting married at 21, Noah then feels that he missed out on the freedom of a twenty something and is trying to fill that void with Alison, who is a twenty something.
They sneak off together and tour the island of Montauk to get ideas for Noah's book while they are really using this time to hook-up. Nevertheless, their real lives do intertwine due to them being on a small island. Noah's son ends up working for Alison's husband Cole on a horse-range (and I am sure much more will follow).
BUT THIS IS THE BEST PART!
Reader, you are probably thinking, Hillary why are you watching this horribly predictable series? While Reader, I'm glad you asked that, you see the series is shown through two different perspectives: Alison's and Noah's. Through this Rashomon***take, Noah's account of events are first and entitled: "Noah: Part I" and the second being Alison's take, "Alison Part II". The viewer sees two series of events that occurred in the same day, as these events are being told to a detective and even when they are talking to the detective their stories are not the same. An example, in Noah's story, the detective says he is divorced however, in Alison's story the detective has been married 25 years. As predicted the events do not match exactly in either character's story and many times the event are not even close. As a fashion minor student I would also like to point out that during the two character's accounts everyone is usually wearing a different outfit than from the other character's story, such as Alison is normally wearing a sexier number in Noah's story than in hers or Noah's shirt is green in his part and in Alison's its blue.
I have always found the unreliable author to be quite fascinating. That their account may not be what actually happened. As even through a thousand people may witness the same thing all would not tell what happened in the same way. Have you ever been retelling a story to your family about a moment that you all experienced and have you ever had a member say that something else happened instead as they remembered it differently but you don't remember that detail? They remembered it differently than you so what did really happen? Are they or are you remembering it differently? Who is more reliable the child or the adult? The woman or the man? I have read from interviews for the series that women believe Alison's story while men believe Noah's. So who is more reliable? Who's story is the truth? We will never know, unless another character's perspective is introduced but even then, what if their story is different from both of the one's previous?
I personally do not know whose story I believe, although Alison's seemed more realistic while Noah's is always sexed up. But do I think that because I have a female brain and not a male one? Maybe a man watching the series wouldn't think that Noah's story was sexed up and that Alison's was unrealistic? I don't know. However, what I do know is The Affair will keep you watching to the very end to see if the characters will be caught by their respected spouse and what events (even if the account of these events are unreliable) occur next.
Oh and I forgot to mention their is a murder and that is why Alison and Noah are being interviewed. That's an element too that will keep you tuned in, to find out who was murdered. All we do know it is a man.
The series shouldn't be called, "The Affair" but instead If The Ocean Could Speak or Whispers of The Hamptons. As the title The Affair does not allude to the breathtaking Ocean which is the back drop of the series, which in turn cannot be overshadowed by the plot of the series due to its beauty. The Ocean should have a starring role in the series. As it is the prominent feature in the opening sequence which shows: Noah's book, the main characters looking sad along with their partners, two people having sex (there is a lot of sex in this show) and a little boy running on the beach all with ocean waves going on top of them. It almost seems that when you are watching it as the waves crash over, you are drowning into the ocean and sinking back into it. Which I think is kind of haunting as Alison's son drowned in the ocean. The ocean in addition is in the background of almost every seen. The ocean is almost like the Eckleburg Glasses in the Great Gatsby, the ocean is always watching them and is the only true witness to Alison's and Noah's affair. As when they are back with their families and their "real lives" their affair gets sunk back into the ocean, just like Fiona Apple sings in the opening sequence repeatedly.
There is no doubt that The Affair will become your latest guilty pressure. It is a series with a beautiful backdrop with the Hampton's and plot twists that you don't see coming. Thus the series overall is very refreshing and worth noting.
Opening sequence of The Affair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6muh9kTlr88
NEXT ARTICLE: FAREWELL, MY DEAR FRIEND, NICK STOKES
***If you have ever taken a film class you should have learned about Rashomon. If not, your professor should be ashamed.
