Third Person
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Paul Haggis
Jun 20, 2014
Issue #50 - June/July 2014 - Future Islands
Paul Haggis’ Third Person focuses on relationships strained by the involvement of third parties. In Paris, a famous novelist (Liam Neeson) sorts out his affairs between his mistress (Olivia Wilde) and his estranged wife (Kim Basinger). In New York, a lawyer (Maria Bello) helps an impoverished young mother (Mila Kunis) battles over visitation rights with the rich father (James Franco) of their young son. And in Rome, a slimy businessman (Adrien Brody) helps an exotic woman (Moran Atias) buy her daughter back from Romanian criminals.
For Haggis—best known for writing and directing Crash—we’d have been more shocked if these three sets of characters weren’t somehow all connected. The thread which finally binds these globally-dispersed tales will either feel baffling or hokey, depending on your interpretation. However, the stories on their own are compelling enough, and the ridiculously stacked cast has an otherwise solid screenplay to work with. These 137 minutes of familial and relationship drama don’t feel anywhere near as long as that, which means the film does plenty of things right.
Author rating: 6/10
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