The Other Man

This film is ultimately disappointing and deserving of its relatively low rating because its edit is annoying and telegraphs where it is going. World-class actors contribute tension and pace and a poor edit simply brings the movie to a complete stop. If ever there was an example of how important editing is to a movie, this is it. Film classes should look at this movie, deconstruct it, and put it back together in a more interesting way. If you watch this film, think about simply reordering several scenes to build tension and mystery and remove confusion. It's a worthwhile exercise. Movies are a complex undertaking that requires contributions of so many -- many folks labored over this film but the folks who put it together just didn't have the talent to pull it off.

This film is about a man who discovers his wife having an affair with someone in Italy. He is enraged and is determined to find and kill the adulterer.

"The Other Man" is an engaging drama about the enmeshed relationship of three people. The composition of scenes and the use of appropriate music enhances the atmosphere of the film. Acting is uniformly good by all three leads. Laura Linney appears appropriately frail at the end, Antonio Banderas is the macho ladies man, while Liam Neeson suffers in anger and grief. Despite the limited amount material, "The Other Man" manages to be captivating and engaging. If the story of "The Other Man" could be expanded, it would have been even better.

Looking at the cast of "The Other Man" you could consider in buying this film: Liam Nesson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney and Romola Garai. The movie delivers? Yes. All that much? No. And if you consider that this was directed by Richard Eyre who directed great ensemble casts in "Iris" and "Notes on a Scandal" there are things that makes of "The Other Man" an inferior film than this two examples.

Neeson plays Peter, a man married with a beautiful wife (Linney), that discover that she hides from him a long affair with Ralph (pronunced Rafe, played by Banderas). What Peter does? Tracks down this man in Italy and tries to see who he really is and what his wife saw in that men. His first idea is to kill this guy but he's always reluctant, so he keeps on playing games with his guy who seems to love Peter's wife very much.

The whole drama pretending to be a thriller goes well, it makes the story interesting until the ending which is quite disappointing and a little bit unexpected. But if you think I can buy the idea that these two guys reveal part of their lives to each other during chess games matches, well I did not buy it. And if they were drunk maybe but that was not the case. Two unknown figures sharing their romantic passages of their lives (with the same woman) is something unbelievable (or perhaps it's just me who likes to play the mysterious guy in front of other people so it's very difficult to make me really share something of this kind of nature). This scenes were great, interesting dialog, except for some angered reaction of Neeson throwing the pieces away after losing a match.

It's a very psychological work about how one can deal with adultery, different reactions might come from the audience, it's very interesting the way Peter does that, changing his persona all the way through this chase after his wife's lover. It's a great material for passionate people who can't forget a betrayal and feel a need to do something about it. This film will make that kind of people think again just like Peter changed his mind in the course of the story.

The acting is decent, the cast is at their best considering the material they were giving. More complexity, more realism and more thrilling moments instead of some bits here and there would make this film better. 7/10

I'm shocked at the high ratings on this film. As much as I love Liam Neeson, this movie sucked. It was good for about a half hour and then it just dragged and I was ready for it to be over. Boring overall!

In Cambridge, the software engineer Peter (Liam Neeson) and the shoe designer Lisa (Laura Linney) are successful in their careers and have been happily married for twenty-five years. They have an adult daughter, Abigail (Romola Garai), and Lisa frequently travels to Milano to do business with the Gianni & Gianni Company. When Lisa is gone, Peter finds a message in her cellular and decides to snoop her e-mails and discovers in a secret folder named Love that she had a lover, Ralph (Antonio Banderas). Peter travels to Milano and stalks Ralph; he finds that the man plays chest in a bar. Peter gets close to Ralph that tells his relationship with Lisa without knowing that he is her husband.

"The Other Man" is an engaging romance about adultery and triangle of love among the husband, the wife and her lover. The story is supported by the excellent Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Antonio Banderas but unfortunately the suspenseful screenplay has a disappointing conclusion. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Amante" ("The Lover")