Conversations with Other Women

I was lucky enough to see this movie on Monday, September 5, the last day of Telluride 2005. There were five other screenings that had sold out before that. I'd heard the about the film, but wasn't sure I had to see it until I read Roger Ebert's review of the film on his website's festival writeup.

I didn't think that a movie made entirely in split screen could be anything but a gimmick. But after seeing the film, I agree with Ebert--the split screen comes to seem necessary. The split screen is used not only to show the simultaneous actions and reactions of both characters, but also shows flashbacks juxtaposed with the present, alternate versions of the present, and moments imagined or hoped by the characters that quickly return to reality. Sometimes the present is fractured into more than one emotion for a given line or action, showing an actor performing the same moment in different ways. The editing is assured and masterful, employing storytelling techniques that couldn't exist without the split screen. The writing is brilliant, full of humor and insight. The movie is like nothing you've ever seen before.

Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter are amazing--funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I really can't wait to see this movie again. If a movie ever rewarded two viewings, it's a movie that plays in two frames.

From the moment I saw the trailer for CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN I wanted to see this film. The combination of Helena Bonham Carter and the terrific Aaron Eckhart together on the screen with dialog that is out of this world, both funny and sad, at the same time, makes this film an intelligent and smart artistic piece of work. And the split screen makes it even more interesting as you get to watch the actors pull off such marvelous performances. I want to see this film again just to see what I might have missed.

When the film begins at a wedding and continues with the momentum of the attraction a couple feel for one another, it is impossible not to think of your own wedding experiences and perhaps the magic of meeting "the right one" as time ticks away in your life. New York is the perfect location for this film and as the last frame of the film appears before the credits roll, you simply don't want to have this couple leave. CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN makes you really think about what is important in your personal life and when you finally meet that "special person", hold on to him, or her, for the rest of your life. Bravo, Hans Canosa for this brilliant film.

I saw this at the LA Film Festival and frankly was expecting it to be very artsy, interesting, and a real downer. It was far above all those things. The split screen is easy to adjust to and really wraps you in, you're quite fascinated to see what these two people will do next. I loved the set up; it lent itself to a nice surprise for the audience and felt completely natural.

What really shines in this movie is the dialog...it's some of the most brilliant original dialog between two people with a shared past that I've ever heard. During the Q&A afterward, I was actually a bit disappointed the director didn't give the screenwriter more credit for her amazing script (which she wrote in three weeks). It's so engaging and natural, you might guess it was improvised...but 99% came directly off the page.

Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckel really landed plum roles for themselves in this story and I've never loved them more than here. The reviewer who thought Helena was miscast is way off in his perception. It's not about wedding sexual tension (good grief) and it's far from a chick flick...it's about the deep connection between two people regardless of time and similar to "Before Sunrise," etc., yet quite different, but I don't want to spoil it.

The film is touching, very humorous, and deeply thoughtful. You will want to watch it several times to catch all that happens.

This movie's character development runs more like a play than a film and contains really excellent performances by Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart. I was initially worried the split-screen effect would be distracting and irritating, however, not so! Splitting the screen allows the viewer to watch each actors performance in more depth, see bits and pieces from the past, as well as what the characters each might be imagining. I'll avoid spoiling any plot details, but will say the performances really do justice to the complexities of romantic relationships. Highly recommended for lovers of character exploration and exploring life's complexities.

The film stats as a casual meeting of a man (Aaron Eckhart) and a woman (Helen Bonham Carter) on the wedding banquet in a New York City Hotel. They seem to know each other and used to be close once. Now she is married to a doctor, the cardiologist, and lives in London. He has a steady girlfriend, a "23 on August 12" Broadway Show Dancer. They seem to like each other and flirt innocently while drinking champagne, smoking (she is) and dancing. But gradually, apparently forgotten or hidden very deep inside feelings come back to life so intensely that they might (or not) change a man's and a woman's lives again.

This is my kind of film, with only two main characters, with the subtle interaction between them, when we have to rely more on their body languages, their eyes, their facial expressions than to the words that they say to each other. "Conversations with Other Women" is a riveting, bittersweet, honest, and realistic movie about making choices, losses, and regrets. Two people used to be the one world which had split years ago leaving them not just on the different continents but on the different halves of the screen. The film brings to mind Before Sunrise of course but its atmosphere is more sober and melancholic. It is not about possibility of future together, it is all about past. Both actors are excellent. The split screen technique works perfectly for the whole duration of the film. It is a very well made and creative indie picture which I enjoyed watching.