Synopsis – Three interlocking love stories involving three couples in three cities: Rome, Paris, and New York.
My Take – Paul Haggis, the director of Crash, has made a career out of making films that interweave numerous story lines. Here, Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Adrien Brody, Moran Atias, Mila Kunis, Maria Bello and James Franco all comprise a wonderful ensemble that demands a range of powerful emotions to drive this story through its incessant melodrama.
No doubts the performances are great with Olivia Wilde & Mila Kunis standing out among the most. But the drama goes on an almost two-and-a-half-hour drive through tense dialogue, flirtation, and sexy teases which clearly after a while phase out & you think is this heading anywhere?. After an interesting 1st half the film drags. The connection between these separate stories begins to materialize the further we advance into the plot while also shadowing it with plenty of confusion at the same time. The climax especially is like serious *sigh*.
Paul Haggis has a heavy burden after to carry due to the amount of high expectations from him churning out another superb interwoven story. However, Third Person, with its stellar cast and beautiful scenery, amplifies the hype, but unlike its predecessor, it doesn’t deliver much.
Director – Paul Haggis
Starring – Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody
Rated – R
Run Time – 137 minutes