The Other Man

Starring: Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney, Romola Garai, Abigail Canton, Paterson Joseph
Directed by: Richard Eyre
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A husband (Liam Neeson) learns his wife (Laura Linney) had been having an affair. He finds the man (Antonio Banderas) she was sleeping with, and gets close to him as he contemplates revenge.

Review:

Tim: The Other Man is quite simply, a bad movie. This is one of the most pointless, boring, banal movies I've seen in quite a while. I usually like when movie stars take a role in a small, independent movie. It allows them to take a meatier role than they usually get in the traditional mainstream Hollywood movie. However, the movie actually has to be good for that to work. It doesn't here. This was an exercise in futility.

The film offers up what sounds like a decent premise. However, the film completely muddles the story up. This is a movie that tried to be too clever for its own good, and ends up disappointing in nearly all aspects. The story was silly, the characters were boring, and at no point in the film did I even remotely care about the characters or what was happening to them. I shook this movie off effortlessly.

This is a film that never gives us a reason to get engaged on any level. The film is purposely confusing- unfortunately, that didn't engage me, it made me care less about what was happening on screen. This confusion is all for a reason- but that isn't made clear until the end. I do give the film credit for trying something different, but I was disappointed it didn't work at all.

The Other Man is actually the type of film I strongly dislike. It is a small, independent film that knows it's a small independent film. It casts big name actors, relying on their fame to sell the movie. It tries to experiment with the narrative, thinking it is so clever and so different that critics will undoubtedly fall in love with it. I hate when movies try to be different solely to be different. I love when movies take chances- as long as it supports the story and the viewing experience. Because this movie took a different route, it's a mess.

The cast was fine, but not superb. Liam Neeson is good in the lead role, but I never bought his character and I never truly understood his intentions. That made me confused about him, and I never connected with his character. That's a big flaw, and the blame goes to the writers and director, not Neeson. Laura Linney is good as well. I thought she gave a good performance, both emotional and memorable. She's on screen nearly enough, and the movie suffers as a result. I also liked the casting of Antonio Banderas. I thought he worked well enough in the role, and it was fairly entertaining to see Neeson and Banderas working together. The problem, though, wasn't the performances- it was the boring characters given to them by the script. It was the direction. The cast could have been excellent, but instead, they work really hard to achieve very little. That is a shame.

I'm not sure what I expected out of The Other Man. I certainly expected a better film than I actually got. I was bored, disengaged, and could care less about the events or the people on screen. That is a recipe for disaster. I will admit that the cast did as well as the could with what they had, but it simply wasn't enough. This movie is quite bad.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: After.Life, Taken, The Door in the Floor, The Savages