From literature to cinema, adultery has often been portrayed in a negative light. Because unless the persons involved cut ties with their current partners, it’s considered morally wrong to cheat on them. This same thought process is very much present in the 2019 thriller An Affair to Die For.
A Spanish-Italian co-production, it’s about a woman who goes on a typical getaway weekend with her lover. However, things quickly take a dark turn as an unseen killer turns the two against each other. Aside from the plot twists the movie reveals, there are some interesting things that viewers might have missed.
10 The Hotel Rooms Had Red Lighting
Among the elements that filmmakers use to establish the mood of a scene, lighting is one of the most obvious. That's because, through the color and brightness of the lights, it can visually tell the audience how to feel.
For instance, An Affair to Die For uses red lighting in the hotel rooms where most of the action in the film takes place. While it’s not realistic, it seems to establish the intense atmosphere that’s present.
9 The Opening Shot Is Similar To The Opening Scene In The Shining
When the film begins, An Affair to Die For shows a car that belongs to the main character Holly driving along a twisted mountain road. What’s noteworthy about this shot is that it’s similar to the opening scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
In it, a car is driving through mountainous terrain with twisting roads included. Though despite the similarities, it’s unclear whether An Affair to Die For intentionally referenced The Shining or not.
8 There Were Pink Lilies Throughout The Hotel
Another visual element that appears in multiple scenes throughout An Affair to Die For are the bouquets of pink lilies in the hotel Holly gets trapped in. Specifically known as Stargazer lilies, they symbolize ‘prosperity and abundance’ according to FTD.
In addition, lilies were associated with the goddess Ishtar in Babylonian mythology, who represented sex and war. Thus, these seemingly random lilies arguably tie into An Affair to Die For’s story in terms of theme.
7 Holly Wasn’t Everett’s First Mistress
Among the major twists that happen throughout An Affair to Die For, the revelation that Holly’s lover Everett had prior affairs didn’t get a lot of attention. But what does make this revelation significant is the person who says it.
Namely, it's Everett’s wife Lydia who reveals this information to Holly during their final confrontation at the end of the film. It’s also revealed that Lydia killed Everett’s other lovers, making her diabolical scheme make sense.
6 Holly Consistently Wore Black While Everett Wore A Gray T-Shirt Underneath His White Jacket
The color of clothing that a character wears can say a lot about their moral standing. In An Affair to Die For, it’s pretty basic with Holly and Everett wearing black and white clothing respectively.
But what’s interesting is Holly constantly wears black while Everett eventually takes off his white sweater jacket to reveal a gray T-shirt underneath. This then could be interpreted to mean that Holly is morally wrong and Everett is complicated.
5 Lydia Had A Slight Accent
While An Affair to Die For was co-produced by Spanish and Italian film companies, all the actors speak English. This makes sense plot-wise as the movie takes place in Aspen, Colorado, where the hotel Holly and Everett stay at is located.
However, a few accents did slip out as was the case with Lydia. The reason Lydia had an accent is that the actress who played her is of Welsh/Spanish descent.
4 The Combination For The Sprinkler System And Safe Is Holly And Russell’s First Date
One of the unintentional running motifs in An Affair to Die For is that there are throwaway lines that are actually important. For instance, Holly gets a call from her husband Russell who asks for the combination of their sprinkler system.
Later, the same combination is used on the safe in Holly’s hotel room. What makes the numbers on the combination significant is that it is Holly and Russell’s first date: 9/18/91.
3 One Of The Paintings In The Background Showed A Box With Red Lines
Much like the lilies, there were paintings in An Affair to Die For that arguably tie into the story thematically. An obvious one is the deer painting above, which likely represents the hunter/prey situation.
Later, a less obvious one appears when Holly finds Russell with his tongue cut out. Behind him is a painting showing a box with red lines, which could be seen as a visual metaphor for how stuck the characters are.
2 The Memory Card Didn’t Have A Brand Label
An important plot device that appears near the end of An Affair to Die For is a memory card containing footage of Russell setting up hidden cameras with Lydia. Though if one looks at the memory card carefully, it doesn’t have a brand label.
Instead, it contains the numbers ‘128g8.’ Viewers can understand that ‘g8’ refers to how much data the memory card can store as the above memory cards show.
1 The Phones Being Used By The Characters Were (Likely) iPhones
Though it’s never explicitly made clear what kinds of phones the main characters in An Affair to Die For use, there is enough reason to believe that they were iPhones. Even though the brand labels were blurred out in the film, some telltale signs were present.
For instance, the shape of the phones was distinctly similar to iPhones. Also, whenever a character got a text message it would make the familiar iPhone ‘ding’ sound.
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April 21, 2020 at 07:30AM
