The Other Man(2009)- User Reviews

I must say, I am appalled at the fact that out of fifteen reviewers, only one thought it was a movie worth watching...

Well, at least there was one.

What kind of world do we live in where a sappy piece of junk like Twilight gets showered with undeserving recognition, and a jewel like this one gets dismissed as being an unwatchable piece of trash?

This movie has the best triangle-romance I've ever seen (with the possible exception of Keeping the Faith which should've gotten an Oscar).

The Other Man is done with style, panache, and a certain originality not so much in the plot but in the way the plot is brought out.

The story revolves around a succesful Software designer named Peter (Liam Neeson) who's a devoted family man with a daughter Abigail (Romola Garai), and a wife Lisa (Laura Linney) who has pursued a brilliant career in shoe designing.

Peter loves Lisa very much, and though the feeling is obviously mutual, its clear from the beginning that his wife is hiding something from him...

And though Peter himself can't see it, the audience's feeling is confirmed when, at a restaurant, Lisa asks if Peter has ever wanted to sleep with someone else.

Peter is appalled, the idea of infidelity having never occured to him.

That night, his wife tells him something.

When next we see Peter, he is alone (Lisa having mysteriously disappeared).
While in the process of giving all her clothes to his daughter, Abigail retrieves a piece of paper from her mother's red heels and hands it to her father, stating that "Mom wanted you to have this."

This gesture unleashes a devastating series of events, revealing a man named Raffe (spelled Ralph, played of course, by Antonio Banderas),and a life he never knew Lisa had.

Neeson and Banderas are perfect for their roles, and Romola Garai really adds a lot by making her role believable.

With the exception of the opening scene, Lisa's character is a ghost, shown only in flashbacks.

There is a quote from a critic which I think describes her performance quite well:

"Linney -luminescent as always- is the dazzling center of this triangle."

That quote made me want to see the movie.
I like the idea of the triangle's center being a ghost-like figure, present only in the minds of her loved ones, instead of alive and heavy with shmaltz.

Schmaltz is one thing we could all use a lot less of, and the abscence of it is what makes this film so refreshing.

The characters actually manage to behave with some maturity...

If not at the beginning, then definitely at the end.

For once they're all grown-ups instead of running around like blubbering children.

This is a wonderful little jewel of a movie, one which deserves closer attention, instead of being dismissed as just being another waste of time.