Man, Woman and Child

Drawn from an Erich (Love Story) Segal novel, this gives a predictably romantic account of the impact on a self-styled 'perfect marriage' of the existence of a 'love child'. The film is given an old-fashioned quality by making the child the progeny of a French dalliance by the husband, and falls into line by reserving the full weight of its carefully orchestrated poignancy for the 'lost' relationship of father and son. Sheen, as the père more or less manqué, bears up manfully. As the put-upon wife, Danner, a keenly stylish performer, is always a whole lot more than just watchable, and Hemmings is pudgily satyric as her chief temptation (she's a sucker for a Brit accent).