Too many fans seem to be blown away

The greatest movie ever made..!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I must say, I have always been appalled at the desdain people have for this movie.What kind of a world do we live in where junk like Twilight gets showered with undeserving recognition, and a little jewel like this one gets dismissed as being an unwatchable piece of trash?This movie (along with Woman Wanted and Keeping The Faith), has one of the best love triangle romances I've ever seen, making it highly notable since most of these types of stories usually crash and burn before the movie is into it's first half hour.But surprisingly, The Other Man is done with style, panache, and a certain originality not so much in the plot as in the way the plot is brought out.The movie revolves around a successful Software designer named Peter (Liam Neeson) who's a devoted family man with a daughter Abigail (Romola Garai), and a wife Lisa (Laura Linney) who has pursued a brilliant career in shoe designing.Peter loves Lisa very much, and though the feeling is obviously mutual, it's also obvious his wife is hiding something from him...And though Peter himself can't see it, our suspicions are confirmed when, while dining at a restaurant, Lisa asks if Peter has ever wanted to sleep with someone else.Peter is stunned, the idea of infidelity having never occurred to him.That night, just as his wife is about to tell him something, the screen fades to black...When we next see Peter, he's alone (Lisa is mysteriously gone).While in the process of giving Abigail her mother's clothes, a piece of paper is retrieved from a pair of Lisa's red high heels which unleashes a devastating series of events, revealing a man named Ralph (Antonio Banderas), and a life Peter never knew Lisa had.This ignites a quest to find his wife's lover...and to kill him.Neeson and Banderas are perfect for their roles, and Romola Garai really adds a lot by her presence as the daughter.With the exception of the opening scene, Lisa's character is a ghost, shown only in flashbacks.There's a quote from a critic which describes her performance quite well:"Linney, luminescent as always, is the dazzling center of this triangle."That quote made me want to see the movie.I like the idea of the triangle's center being a ghost like figure, present only in the minds of her loved ones instead of alive, and heavy with schmaltz.Schmaltz is something we could all do without, and the abscence of it is what makes this (like so many other of my favorite movies), so refreshing.The characters actually manage to behave with some maturity.If not at the beginning, then at least at the end.For once they act like adults instead of blubbering teenagers.This is a terrific movie, one that deserves more attention, instead of being dismissed as just another waste of time.Originally, Review #62 Posted On: August 19, 2010

Appalling script. Considering the class of actors, namely Liam Neeson (personally can't stand Laura "Two-Dimensional" Linney), you'd expect less vacuous performances. I guess they did what they could with such flimsy dialogue. From the basic synopsis, the plot had promise. A theme that people could identify with and feel empathy for the protagonist. However, its attempt to be dark and tormented is laughable. Surprisingly forced. Even the relationship with the daughter was tissue thin. Whatever the father's problem was with her boyfriend, we'll never know. All really poorly constructed. A great shame they didn't have a more powerful Director to really dig deep.

This was interesting enough as a "suspense" film, but I was confused reconciling the description on the case with the actual story. The distributor writes that Neeson's character "is obsessed with uncovering the truth surrounding his wife's disappearance".She never "disappears" in the film, she dies of cancer. That is a really sad way to add suspense to a film.The viewer keeps wondering when the wife will "re-appear" until about 15 minutes before the end, when the director takes us through Linney's cancer-and-death scenes.There is no indication earlier from any character that Neesons character is anything but a jealous husband looking for his adulterous runaway wife. I was VERY disappointed, and wish I had not read the case notes...

Skipping through reviews before watching this film, I nearly decided to give it a miss. But I found out it was a miss for those negative reviewers who didn't get it. It's a hit, for me anyway.It's gutsy, deals with real emotions colouring them in hither and thither as the scenes flick by in a non linear time line. That may sound like it's complex - it isn't. You are taken on a journey focusing on Peter, his wife being the essential background to the story, with his wife's lover the foil on which they both tread.If you're looking for a stereotypical Hollywood scorned husband movie, move along, you'll find no joy here. This is real life in content, pace and dialogue. It's not boring, its not slow and it is captivating. I dare any man who has been cheated on by the love of their life not to be deeply moved by this film. The same probably goes for women. As the story unfolds, there's another group of people that will be moved, and that's for you to discover.The ending is how it should be given the subject matter - some level of completion. And there's plenty to talk about afterwards. I'd love to say more but that would be giving away too much.Great acting by all, though Liam Neeson has, and holds firmly, the centre stage.I give this a low end of 9/10 if that's possible. Enjoy!