Her marriage wasn't really in trouble so why her had sex with the French guy?
She seemed really unhappy in her marriage. Not that it was over, just that it was rocky. And wasn't she convinced her husband was cheating on her with an actress in his film?
Oh and, she didn't really seem to have any respect for him or his work. Ouch.
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She did not have sex with the french guy. We don't really know why she was crying.
shareYes she did even though it's not explicitly shown. Or else what would be the entire point of showing she's receptive to the guys invite to lunch and him talking about keeping things from your spouse? She's unhappy with her marriage and if you recall, had "forgotten" to wear ring when she got to Paris.
So she cheats on her husband but felt ashamed and guilty which leads to her crying in the bathroom and putting her ring back on.
Also she calls Nora (or tries to) when she's with the guy and then later comes to the hotel late saying "sorry I'm late".
I think we can just leave it as we really won't know for sure either way. They could have talked for all we know. When there is something as significant as her having a [one afternoon affair] to me they would have been more definitive then what was shown. The absent wedding ring was to show her independence being in Paris and without him [husband] more than her looking to have sex. She could have had sex with her wedding ring on. She wanted to be seen as someone who had no attachments, he may not have asked her out if he saw a wedding ring. She wanted to hear him talk to her as if she was single. And she wanted to see how it felt.
Very rarely does a one night stand happen when one is not looking for just that. She did not even know the guy and if he was looking to have sex, I would doubt if he would wear his wedding ring.
I think the scene is more of a red herring for those who would want to see it that way. The film shows she and her husband were not necessarily having trouble to me, he treating her as something less of a true independent person, and she looking for respect as a woman and more than a goddess or a trophy wife. She got what she wanted and felt ashamed perhaps because of what she was looking for. She may have felt she had it all along. I think she may have realized that her husband was not that bad. He was what he was and she could live with that.
On the guy saying some things are better left unsaid to there spouse, all it seemed to mean to me was don't rock the boat there is no need to tell him we had a great lunch. She will from that statement not say anything to upset her husband. The entire scene is to show she came and got what she was looking for.
If she was looking for something that would have truly liberated her why go with married man. He would have been much worse than anything her husband was doing. One last point she did not seem to be a character who would cheat on her husband, from what you are saying. She seemed real throughout the movie.
At first I could not understand the entire scene as it came out of no where, but my theory fits better than she out of the blue having a affair.