''Her Costly Affair'' is a 1996 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by John Patterson. The film was initially to be released as ''Consensual Relations'', until lead actress

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera ''Love of Life'' and made her film debut in ''The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appeare ...

had it changed. Filming took place in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

.Review
Variety

Plot

Dr. Diane Weston is a college professor who teaches English literature. Not entirely happy with her life, she trusts a colleague Sally with her desire of an adventurous life. Because she is not getting a lot of sympathy from her husband Carl and teenage daughter Tess, she isn't bothered with the special attention of Jeff. Jeff is a transfer student he moved after the mysterious death of his girlfriend. He immediately falls in love with Diane and explains that she reminds him of his former girlfriend. She initially denies his attempts to seduce her and focuses on recapturing the passion with her husband. However, when he cancels a romantic trip with her to attend a tennis match with Tess, she agrees to accompany Jeff on a trip. Unwantedly feeling attracted to him, she agrees to sleep with him, but soon regrets this decision. She immediately ends their affair, but he isn't willing to stop seeing her and shows aggressive behavior. Diane soon notices that he is stalking her and he even goes as far as

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

her at a public library. She later threatens to step to the police, but he responds by saying he will tell Carl about their affair if she does. Because he is continuing to harass her, she starts to collect information about his past. She eventually finds out that the death of his girlfriend Ann was a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, although Jeff was the prime suspect of murder for a long time. She is further on shocked to hear that Ann was his college professor. Afraid of what will happen, she admits the whole story to Sally, who advises her to admit what happened to Carl. Later that day, she finds out that Jeff dropped out of college and moved town. Diane finally thinks her life will turn back to normal, until it turns out that Tess' new boyfriend Jack is actually Jeff. She threatens to kill him if he ever sees Tess again and later forbids her from spending time with him, which only leads to an estrangement. The next day, she pretends to be in love with him to help him get counseling, but finds out later that day that he went into the woods with Carl and Tess to go shooting. Worried about them, she admits everything to Carl upon their return. Upset, Carl sends her away and she is soon harassed by Jeff. She tries to run away to a rooftop, but he catches her and admits to the murder of Ann. They threaten to fall off, but are rescued by Carl and Sally. In the end, Jeff is arrested and Diane reunites with Carl.

Cast

as Dr. Diane Weston *

Brian Austin Green Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...

as Jeff Dante *

Joe Spano Joseph Peter Spano (born July 7, 1946) is an American actor best known for his roles as Lt. Henry Goldblume on ''Hill Street Blues'' and FBI Special Agent Tobias C. Fornell on '' NCIS''. He also voiced the Chuck E. Cheese (at the time Chuck E. Che ...

as Carl Weston *

Gina Philips Gina Philips (née Consolo; born May 10, 1970) is an American actress. She had recurring roles on David E. Kelley's '' Ally McBeal'', as Sandy Hingle, and ''Boston Public'', as Jenna Miller. She is perhaps best known as Trish Jenner in the hor ...

as Tess Weston *

Steven Gilborn Steven Neil Gilborn (July 15, 1936 – January 2, 2009) was an American actor and educator. Gilborn was born in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Swarthmore College, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in English and earned a Ph.D. ...

as Dr. Sorenson *

Roma Maffia Roma Maffia is an American actress. Life and career Roma Maffia grew up in Brooklyn, New York and is of English, German and West Indian descent. Her Italian surname reportedly comes from her stepfather. Maffia began her official acting career ...

as Sally Canter *Andrew Craig as Matt *Ron Brooks as Bob *Gene Wolande as Don *Zar Acayan as Ray *

David Ramsey David Paul Ramsey (born November 17, 1971) is an American actor, director, and martial artist, best known for his roles in The CW Arrowverse series '' Arrow'', '' The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', and '' Batwoman'' as John Diggle / Spartan, portrayin ...

as Shep Walker *William Bassett as Ed Baines * Benito Martinez as Campus Cop *

Taylor Sheridan Taylor Sheridan (born May 21, 1970) is an American filmmaker and actor. Sheridan portrayed David Hale (Sons of Anarchy), David Hale in the FX (TV channel), FX television series ''Sons of Anarchy'' and Danny Boyd in ''Veronica Mars'' (2005–2007 ...

as Chris *

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school. Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...

as Dee *Jeanne Sakata as Mrs. Beals *Laurie Fortier as Liz *Amanda Carlin as Jeannette * Chris Ellis as Wes *David Quittman as Johnny

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0116517, title=Her Costly Affair 1996 television films 1996 thriller films 1996 films American thriller television films NBC network original films Films about rape in the United States Films scored by Michael Hoenig Films directed by John Patterson 1990s American films