Indecent Proposal;Brief Encounter;Double Indemnity;The Seven Year Itch;A Guide for the Married Man;Falling in Love;Betrayal;Cousins

Two other '80s movies shine a more honest light on domestic truancy, and it's no coincidence that both had their genesis outside of Hollywood. Betrayal (1983, CBS/Fox, R, $59.98) retains the central conceit of Harold Pinter's precise, chilly stage play: It tells the story of a seven-year affair in reverse, starting with burned-out regret and slowly working backward through agony, ecstasy, secrecy, and, finally, the thrill of possibility. A merciless dissection of the ways we lie to ourselves and each other, Betrayal is sharply acted by Jeremy Irons (lover), Patricia Hodge (wife), and Ben Kingsley (betrayed husband; he gets a great flip-out scene in a restaurant).

Cousins (1989, Paramount, PG-13, $19.95) Hollywoodized the frothy French cult comedy Cousin, Cousine, and arguably made it deeper. Still, the movie plays it safe. Cousins-by-marriage Larry (Ted Danson) and Maria (Isabella Rossellini) hit the sack after much hesitation—and only after their respective spouses (Sean Young and William Petersen) have had a callow quickie of their own. That's the filmmakers' way of assuring us that the leads ''deserve'' to get together, but Rossellini and Danson are so believably warm that it's not really necessary. And it's refreshing to see a movie that presents marriage as something more complex than an either/or proposition.

In this context, Indecent Proposal has to be considered a step back. To be fair, Demi Moore's errant wife, Diana Murphy, does admit she enjoyed sex with millionaire John Gage (Robert Redford), which for adultery movies constitutes a Great Leap Forward. But director Lyne ignores the rich sex-as-commodity angle by painting too pretty a picture. I'd be more interested to know if Diana would monkey around if Gage were played by Larry ''Bud'' Melman. Or what would happen if a woman millionaire offered Diana's husband, David (Woody Harrelson), this deal. (The filmmakers would portray her as a neurotic bitch, that's what.)

And do these characters have to be as dumb as mud? David and Diana are meant to be a well-educated, J. Crew kinda couple, but here's what they do to raise money for their dream house: They go gambling in Las Vegas. Harrelson and Moore mope attractively (and Redford gets by on distanced elegance), but they're such self-absorbed ninnies that it's impossible to care about them. Most adultery movies end with the heroes older but wiser. In Indecent Proposal, they're just older. This is progress? Indecent Proposal: C Brief Encounter: B+ Double Indemnity: A The Seven Year Itch: C- A Guide for the Married Man: B- Falling in Love: C Betrayal: B+ Cousins: B