Sunday 11 July 2010

Film Review: THE OTHER MAN (2008)


Writer/Director: Richard Eyre
Running time: 85 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

UK release date: 17th October 2008 (London Film Festival)

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 11th July 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I read the write-up about this on the TV guide and it sounded intriguing, so I thought I’d give it a go. It’s a drama, set in London and Milan, about a man looking into the affairs of his wife after she has gone.

Peter’s wife, Lisa, has gone, he feels a great loss, but going through her things he discovers that she had been having an affair. His daughter, Abigail, is against him looking any further into it, she can see how it is hurting him, but he persists. Tracking the other man down to Milan, he goes there and befriends him in order to find out more about him. Eventually the truth has to come out, and this leads to a rather surprising ending.

The story is mostly told in flashback which can be a little confusing at times. Quite a slow pace, though, allows the audience time to absorb the narrative. Adequate performances from the main cast, Laura Linney as Lisa, Antonio Banderas as Ralph, Liam Neeson as Peter and Romola Garai as Abigail.

This is not the sort of film I would usually choose to watch and I found it a little intriguing, but not overly gripping. There is a twist towards the end that is pretty obvious from a long way off, but apart from that I don’t really have much to say about this one. A bit too slow for me, not recommended.

My score: 5.1/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0974613/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1295450649/

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