3

Tom Tykwer’s first German-language film since 2000’s The Princess and the Warrior, 3 follows a successful yet emotionally detached couple (Sebastian Schipper’s Simon and Sophie Rois’ Hanna) as they individually fall for the same man (Devid Striesow’s Adam). There’s little doubt that 3 bears few similarities to Tykwer’s decidedly kinetic efforts of the past, as the film unfolds in a deliberate and surprisingly conventional manner that effectively prevents it from becoming anything more than a well-acted (and well-made) domestic drama. Tykwer even seems to be going out of his way to prevent viewers from wholeheartedly embracing the spare narrative, as the director offers up a trio of underdeveloped protagonists that remain completely uninteresting virtually from start to finish. Not helping matters is Tykwer’s sporadic emphasis on oddball elements (eg Simon recites a poem with the spirit of his dying mother), as the film’s tenuously authentic atmosphere is undoubtedly diminished significantly each and every time the filmmaker indulges his notoriously avant-garde sensibilities. It’s finally impossible to label 3 as anything more than a typically talky European drama, which is certainly the last thing one would’ve expected from the man behind such thrilling endeavors as Run Lola Run and The International.

** out of ****