Third Person

Paul Haggis did it again. At least for me he did. Obviously judging by the low rating, it hasn't had the same effect on others here. I really loved the movie, the intricacies, the connections and of course the "resolution". There might be a better word for the ending, but one thing is for sure: The movie demands more than one viewing. You can watch it with different eyes (your own, just a matter of speaking) and see things in a new light.

There's also trademark Haggis dialog, pointing in one direction, making fun of it, by almost straying away, than going full throttle on the first assumption you made. You may or may not like that, but it's what Haggis can do very good. And he has the actors to pull anything off, he gives them. It's a great movie with little hints here and there, that make sense in the end. Even if you don't get everything the first time around, it is a rewarding (viewing) experience

If you see a large number of user reviews with spoilers it's because this movie has a complex story line that is hard to describe without spoiling the suspense and confusion that one experiences while watching it for the first time. Don't read the spoilers until after you see the film or you will rip yourself off. My partner and I saw it at the Rehoboth Beach film festival and really didn't know exactly what to think at the end of the movie. We had both been engrossed and intrigued but felt unsatisfied at the end… until we were discussing it on the way home and figured out what we had just seen. The most popular spoiler alert review nails the plot, but suffice to say that this is no typical "I can see were this is going" movie, it was almost "I see dead people but they don't know they are dead" kind of realization, only for us, we didn't get it until a half an hour after the movie was over. We actually didn't realize how good it was until we thought about it. I would recommend it and I will watch it again to tie up all the clues given along the way.

This is not the movie for everyone, but I loved it. The acting is superb and the story is not your formula Hollywood blockbuster. It is a unique and interesting story, that will hold your interest the entire time, always unsure of the outcome.

The subject matter is a bleak but the characters are true and real. Kim Basinger after hearing something that would drive most women away, asks her husband to come home. Twists, turns, but in the end, it all makes sense.

Not the movie for just anyone. If you want a schlock Hollywood feel good movie, go see the delightful new Rob Reiner film 'And so it goes'

but as for me, this is head and shoulders over that.

Phooey to the bad reviews

Paul Haggis both wrote and directed this very long movie (137 minutes) that plays with our minds in a way not dissimilar to his most famous similar film CRASH. The quilted story takes patience and close attention to paste each of the three running stories together – three (at times augmented) couples whose lives are altered in some way by a child – drowning, abusive by placing in a plastic bag, a conveniently imagined child – and it all ties together with slips of paper, pages of novels, paintings and other threads spread around Paris, Rome, and New York.

'Michael (Liam Neeson) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction author who has sequestered himself in a hotel suite in Paris to finish his latest book. He recently left his wife, Elaine (Kim Basinger), and is having a tempestuous affair with Anna (Olivia Wilde), an ambitious young journalist who wants to write and publish fiction. At the same time, Scott (Adrien Brody), a shady American 'clothing designer' businessman, is in Italy to steal designs from fashion houses. Hating everything Italian, Scott wanders into the Café American with barkeep Marco (Riccardo Scamarcio) in search of something familiar to eat. There, he meets Monika (Moran Atias), a beautiful Romanian woman, who is about to be reunited with her young daughter. When the money she has saved to pay her daughter's smuggler Carlo (Viinico Marchioni) has stolen, Scott feels compelled to help. They take off together for a dangerous town in Southern Italy, where Scott starts to suspect that he is the patsy in an elaborate con game. Julia (Mila Kunis), an ex-soap opera actress, is caught in a custody battle for her 6 year-old son with her ex-husband Rick (James Franco), a famous New York artist. With her support cut off and her legal costs ruinous, Julia is reduced to working as a maid in the same upscale boutique hotel where she was once a frequent guest. Julia's lawyer Theresa (Maria Bello) has secured Julia one final chance to change the court's mind and be reunited with the child she loves. Rick's current girlfriend Sam (Loan Chabanol) is a compassionate onlooker.'

With a cast such as this the film works as well as it can with such obtuse twists and turns involving each of the three couples. The film 'feels' like it wants to be wonderful, but it just plods along too slowly to make us care very much about this odd groups of maladjusted misfits.

I enjoyed this movie so much, I don't even want to tell you anything about it. I just want you to watch it, then tell your friends to watch it, and tell them to tell their friends to watch it, and then we can all talk about it together. However, since the point of reading a review is to learn a bit about the movie, I'll have to tell you something.

Third Person strings together unrelated vignettes and manages, despite its long running time, to make you wish it continued for another hour. In one storyline, Liam Neeson is a successful author working on his next novel. He's married to Kim Basinger, but his mistress Olivia Wilde comes to visit him while he's in Paris. They have a tumultuous relationship with mind games and emotions flying wild, but fear not: if you find yourself wondering why they keep fighting and making up, all shall be revealed. In another vignette, Adrien Brody is in Italy on business, and while in a dive bar, he falls in love with a stranger. Moran Atias has her own mysterious struggle-as do all the women in the film-involving ransom money, and even though it's clearly a bad idea to get involved, Adrien can't help himself. The third story follows Mila Kunis in a custody battle with her ex-husband James Franco. Mila frustrates her lawyer, Maria Bello, with her irresponsibility and bad judgment, but there's much more to the situation than meets the eye. Each character is fascinating, as he or she sabotages their own goals and near-misses at happiness.

Whatever you do, don't watch the preview. It's compelling and dramatic, but it not only shows you the entire movie, including snippets from the end scenes, but it also blows a huge surprise that you're not supposed to know from the get-go. Just rent this movie, or better yet, buy yourself a copy. This is a movie you're going to need to watch over and over again to pick up nuances in the story and the actors' performances. A perfect choice for movie night with your friends, if you all like movies that inspire conversation for weeks afterwards, but it might not be the best choice to watch with your relatives.

Written and directed by Paul Haggis, it's a sure bet that each scene will feature the perfect amount of screen time before switching to the next character. The pace in this film is impeccable, and the performances are fantastic. While you expect Liam Neeson to be a pro and look sufficiently sad and frustrated, you don't expect Olivia Wilde to create incredible, indescribable expressions of self-loathing. James Franco is a strong dramatic actor, but who would believe Mila Kunis could keep up with him? Adrien Brody is given the simplest story, and he keeps it afloat by completely fleshing out his character with emotions not included in his spoken lines. You're going to be so impressed when you watch this movie. The acting, the fluid direction, and the precise, purposeful script are remarkable.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.