I always give extra credit for a film that tries to be different. It’s difficult to say how The Other Man does this without giving too much of the plot away. But I will try.
Peter, played by Liam Neeson (who is another one of those actors whose films I will see merely because he is in them) is married to fashionable shoe designer Lisa (Laura Linney). Peter comes across certain evidence that Lisa is, or at least was, having an affair with a man from Milan (played perfectly by Antonio Banderas). Peter flies to Milan to confront this man. He finds him in a coffee shop. The two sit down to a game of chess. Ralph (pronounced Rafe) has no idea who Peter is; just an inquisitive guy who likes chess, apparently. Over the course of several days the men continue to meet, play chess, and converse. Most of the talking is done by Ralph, who answers Peter’s questions about the love of Ralph’s life who is, of course, also the love of Peter’s life. It is interesting cat-and-mouse, and we wonder continuously what Peter will ultimately do (at one point he is poised over Ralph with a sledge hammer in Ralph’s apartment).
In time, two significant things are revealed. One is about Lisa and the other about Ralph. Neither can be disclosed here without spoiling the plot. But both make this film a very interesting one, taking it beyond the realm of simple love-triangle. I actually began to like this film more the more I thought about it afterwards. There is a strange bond of sorts between two men who love the same woman, and interesting sympathies develop as the film progresses. Directed by Richard Eyre, who also wrote the screenplay based on a short story by Bernhard Schlink, the film is a fascinating work that runs a bit deeper than it at first appears.
The Other Man, it must be said, got trounced by most critics. I suspect it didn’t help itself by being marketed as something of a thriller. The film keeps us guessing and is suspenseful, but a thriller it is not. And one will either appreciate the plot twists, or feel that they’re somehow over the top, even manipulative. I thought they worked. The film, after all, is different. That, in my view, always makes a movie worth a serious look.
7.5/10