10 Exceptional Cases of Wives Interrogating Their Cheating Husbands

I hope you didn’t think I was going to let the men get off easy. Yesterday, I listed my 10 favorite instances of husbands interrogating their cheating wives. Today, the men get chewed out.

I hope you enjoy the second (and final) installment of this admittedly random (but no less fun) series!

Anne Archer vs. Michael Douglas

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Once the poor bunny is fatally boiled, Dan Gallagher finally thinks his wife, Beth, deserves a few answers. And so he openly admits to his affair with temptress Alex (Glenn Close). Beth flips, attempts to kick Dan out, but then something unique happens. He pauses and actually calls Alex on the phone, in hopes of explaining to Alex that she no longer has blackmail leverage over him. Alex doesn’t believe that Dan has told his wife about the affair, which is when Beth gets on the phone and calmly asserts that she will kill Alex if she comes near her family again.

Honey, you don’t know the half of it.

Lorraine Bracco vs. Ray Liotta

GoodFellas (1990)

Most everyone involved with GoodFellas say that the most difficult scene to shoot was the sequence in which Bracco’s Karen sits on top of her husband, Henry, pointing a loaded six-shooter in his face while he sleeps. Now, when I first saw GoodFellas, I was well aware of the fate of Henry Hill, but something in Bracco’s eyes (her cold, lifeless eyes) convinces you that she just might do it. I’ve seen this movie upwards of 100 times, and that scene is never not uncomfortable.

Molly Hagan vs. Matthew Broderick

Election (1998)

Matthew Broderick’s character in Election is perhaps Alexander Payne’s most pathetic character to date (of which there are many). So when he (pathetically) attempts to demonstrate his secret love for his wife’s best friend, Linda, she reciprocates, resulting in a planned tryst together. But when the day comes, Linda is nowhere to be found. Carrying himself home, Broderick is shocked to find Linda sitting on his living room couch… right next to his wife. He stares at them, and embarrassingly let’s out a (pathetic): “…okay,” before walking away shrunken and heartbroken.

Toni Collette vs. Greg Kinnear

Dinner with Friends (2001)

One of the more devastating inclusions on this list is the extend battle between Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear in Norman Jewison’s criminally overlooked Dinner with Friends.

Tom (Kinnear) has stepped out on his wife, Beth (Collette) by sleeping with a hot, young travel agent. So when he shows up to their house after his flight is cancelled, Beth wants nothing to do with him. But Tom wants answers. He wants to know why Beth has ousted him to their best friends. So, here, we have the cheater play victim while the victim play the abused. Until she decides to fight back.

Amanda Peet vs. Ben Affleck

Changing Lanes (2002)

Amanda Peet’s subtle beating of Ben Affleck in Changing Lanes is arguably the best scene of her unjustly underrated career. Meeting her Wall Street lawyer husband for a brief lunch, Peet tells her Affleck how her mother knew about her father’s long-standing affair with another woman. She knew, and she let it happen, because his work as a lawyer afforded her the luxioursly life she was used to. To call him out on his affair would be to take away everything she has. That’s when Peet (slowly, ingeniously) informs Affleck that she knew about his affair, while it was happening, and when it had ceased.

There’s A LOT more going on in this scene than a wife casually confronting her cheating husband, but damn. I’ve never seen a spousal interrogation like this one before.

(Props to Nick of Cinema Romantico for bringing this scene, which I had ashamedly forgotten about, back to my attention.)

Laura Linney vs. Liam Neeson

Kinsey (2004)

After Professor Kinsey (Neeson) has slept with his male assistant, he tries and mostly succeeds at rationalizing the affair in the name of science. But Linney’s character is too strong for that. And fierce. She demands solid answers via candid admissions of guilt.

“Haven’t I been open to everything you have asked?!” she screams at him through tears. It’s utterly devastating to watch Kinsey slowly wear her down. But, in the end, she gets hers. And then some.

Michelle Williams vs. Heath Ledger

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Years after Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and his tortured wife, Alma (Williams) have divorced, they share a seemingly innocent kitchen sink moment after Thanksgiving dinner. She asks him if he still sees his pal, Jack Twist, before sneakily diving into an attack on Del Mar’s frequent weekend getaways with Twist. The consequence of her action never fails to shake me, and, quite frankly, should’ve resulted in Oscars for both of the actors involved.

Jacinda Barrett vs. Zach Braff

The Last Kiss (2006)

Leaving his pregnant fiancé home while he goes partying with a college coed, Zach Braff returns to his once-humble abode in the midst of an ambush. His wife knows that he’s been out with another woman, and through means of convincing intimidation, she forces Braff to relent what he has done. She tells him it’s over and begs him to leave. He doesn’t. Screams are heard, knives are drawn, and it all comes tumbling down. One question: given the strength of her performance here, why the hell isn’t Jacinda Barrett in more movies?

Kate Winslet vs. Gregg Edelman

Little Children (2006)

How is a wife expected to respond to walking in on her husband jerking off to porn while sniffing a small pair of panties? Well, for starters, how about telling him, “We need to talk.”

Hours later, when he’s overly confident and ready for that chat, you can really win the battle by telling him, “I’m tired,” and walking off. Which is precisely what Kate Winslet expertly does here.

Marisa Tomei vs. Philip Seymour Hoffman

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

A bit of an admitted spin, as Tomei is technically the one doing the cheating in this film. But even after packing her bags and walking toward the door with all her luggage (luggage that Hoffman smugly does not help her carry), and even after admitting that she’s been balling Hoffman’s brother for months, we still feel that she is the victim. 

Hoffman's character is so closed off and shut down, it's as if Tomei was using her affair as a means of waking him up. And still, she's the one doing the interrogation. And who can forget Hoffman's steady, silent reaction to this news? Perfect. Just perfect.

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