The Other Man

Following the unusually salacious Notes on a Scandal, The Other Man pretty much cements Richard Eyre’s status as a high-brow purveyor of trashy fare – with his arty directorial choices and penchant for working with A-level actors the only thing keeping him from movie-of-the-week territory. This time around, Eyre, working from his and Charles Wood’s screenplay, offers up the sordid tale of a man (Liam Neeson’s Peter) who discovers that his wife (Laura Linney’s Lisa) has been having an affair with a fiery Spaniard (Antonio Banderas’ Ralph) – but rather than confront him, Peter decides to befriend the man and learn more about his relationship with Lisa. Aside from the baffling decision to withhold a crucial bit of information regarding Linney’s character until around the 70-minute mark, The Other Man generally comes off as a straight-forward drama that benefits from an expectedly riveting performance from Neeson. Though the actor is occasionally slightly more intense than he needs to be (“Gucci shoes!”), Neeson does a superb job of holding the viewer’s interest even through some of the film’s more languid stretches. The remarkably simplistic storyline – there’s really nothing much to the film beyond that premise – does ensure that it’s rarely as electrifying as Eyre clearly wants it to be, and it’s ultimately impossible to label The Other Man as anything but an exceedingly tawdry endeavor that’s been filtered through an art-house sensibility.

**1/2 out of ****