A Page From the Infidelity Handbook

Relationship fidelity is at a premium in the movies these days, whether it’s a marriage on the rocks or just a couple in which one is straying.

And the professionals most likely to stray in the movies at this time? Magazine editors.

Not just any magazine editors: New York magazine editors.

Consider: In “The Horse Whisperer,� Kristin Scott Thomas is a hard-charging Manhattanite who falls for the suave Zen cowboy played by Robert Redford. In “Six Days, Seven Nights,� Anne Heche is a fashion mag editor (on vacation with her fiance, David Schwimmer), who succumbs to Harrison Ford, the pilot with whom she is marooned. In “High Art,� Radha Mitchell plays a young downtown photo editor whose career advances when she has an affair with Ally Sheedy, playing a famous but reclusive photographer.

It’s even bled over into books: “Here, but Not Here,� by Lillian Ross, is the New Yorker writer’s memoir of her longtime affair with New Yorker editor William Shawn.

They didn’t teach about this in journalism school.

The editor is:

“The Horse Whisperer�: Annie, a high-powered, Tina Brown type, consumed by her job at the expense of her personal life. Married to an attorney.

“Six Days, Seven Nights�: Robin, a snippy assistant editor at Dazzle, an upscale fashion magazine. Engaged to an attorney.

“High Art�: Syd, a recent college grad, now a mopey, slow-track assistant editor at a pretentious photography magazine. Living with someone.

“Here, but Not Here�: William Shawn, the phobic, introverted editor of the New Yorker. Married, with children.

The editor’s life changes when:

“HW�: Annie’s daughter and the daughter’s horse are nearly killed in a freak accident that maims both of them.

“Days/Nights�: While on vacation with her fiance in the South Pacific, Robin and pilot Quinn crash on an uncharted island, from which they must try to escape by teaming up.

“HA�: Syd discovers that the reclusive lesbian heroin addict upstairs is actually Lucy, a famous photographer whose work she can exploit for her own career advancement.

“HBNH�: Writer Lillian Ross comes to work for the New Yorker and, in short order, commences an affair with Shawn.

As a result:

“HW�: Annie takes daughter and horse to Montana to work with hunky horse-trainer Tom, who is reawakened to life’s romantic possibilities by her presence.

“Days/Nights�: Robin and Quinn’s initial antagonism turns to cooperation--and lust--when they are forced to battle pirates and save each other’s lives.

“HA�: Syd begins dabbling in heroin to ingratiate herself to Lucy, while enjoying an uptick in her stock at the photo magazine.

“HBNH�: The Ross-Shawn relationship--with its long lunches and other conspiratorial get-togethers--becomes an open secret at the New Yorker.

Warning signs on the relationship home front:

“HW�: After a tentative kiss, Annie and Tom dance a mite too close at the local grange hall--and in front of her husband, no less.

“Days/Nights�: Quinn kisses her and pushes her off a cliff. Robin later tells him how much she liked the kiss.

“HA�: Syd’s boyfriend moves out when Syd and Lucy become lovers; Lucy photographs Syd, thus completely erasing the line between personal and professional relationship.

“HBNH�: Ross takes an apartment within walking distance of the Shawn family residence; she adopts a child, which Shawn helps to rear.

Meanwhile, on the professional front:

“HW�: Annie learns to focus on what’s important--her relationship with her daughter--and gets fired as a result.

“Days/Nights�: Robin never does make it to Tahiti to supervise photo shoot; her plane-crash story may get her off the hook.

“HA�: Photos of Syd wind up as centerpiece of Lucy’s spread in the magazine, further advancing Syd’s career.

“HBNH�: Shawn maintains iron grip on the New Yorker for the next three decades, turning Ross into one of the magazine’s stars.