The Other Man

Image Entertainment | Release Date: September 11, 2009

5.0	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Ratings

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JennetPFeb 3, 2011

I almost didn't view this film after reading the negative reviews. But because Eyre's last two are among my favorites, I decided to watch a few minutes, and am glad I did, though "The Other Man" did not measure up to "Stage Beauty" or "NotesI almost didn't view this film after reading the negative reviews. But because Eyre's last two are among my favorites, I decided to watch a few minutes, and am glad I did, though "The Other Man" did not measure up to "Stage Beauty" or "Notes on a Scandal." Like those films, it is interested in social constraints and the people who violate them. Here, the constraint is marital fidelity, which Peter (Neeson) never questions, even as his wife Lisa (Linney) cavorts with Ralph (Banderas). Almost as soon as the film opens, Lisa is gone, though she remains a central presence, recollected by the men who loved her. Hearing a passionate voicemail message from Ralph on her phone, Peter becomes obsessed, first with discovering the identity of Lisa's lover and later with discrediting him. Yes, Peter's obsession and his frequent rages seem disproportionate to his injury, but, rather than flaws in the writing, these are clues that we have not yet seen the complete picture. As indeed we have not--at least until late in the film, when a missing puzzle piece appears, poses for a moment as a trick, then begins retroactively explicating what we have seen. This strategy works only because the film is extremely vague about time and causality. We see Lisa walk out the door with an overnight bag at night; then we see Peter angrily discarding her clothes in daylight, and we assume, based on cinematic convention, that (1) she has left him, and (2) little time has passed. Neither is a safe assumption in "The Other Man," and whether you enjoy the film rests largely upon whether you believe Eyre is cheating or skillfully playing with the assumptions we bring to the medium. I am more inclined toward the latter view, though I do find the "play" a bit clumsy. At 87 minutes, this film is too short for its material, the gaps that allow its sleight-of-hand larger than they should be. Great performances, though, and some interesting ideas, especially about beauty.… Expand

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