FILM REVIEW
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The Other Man Wastes Neeson
Adultery story fails to seduce critics
By Jason Farago
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Posted Sep 11, 09 2:02 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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The Other Man, based on a story by The Reader author Bernhard Schlink, has a starry cast including Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, and Antonio Banderas—and critics say they're wasted on this schlocky adultery story.
- It's "a muddled little dud of a melodrama," writes Stephen Holden in the New York Times. "Nap-inducing" at the start, it smacks viewers with a "whopping plot gimmick" that fails to convince.
- Neeson as a cuckolded lover who becomes obsessed with Banderas is a "promising intrigue," says Robert Koehler of Variety, but the plot quickly becomes "untenable." Linney, as the adulterous wife, is underdrawn and "more talked about than seen."
- It has "all the ingredients for a good movie," writes Claudia Puig of USA Today, but devolves into both "a wannabe thriller" and "a mediocre soap opera." The location shoot on Lake Como is pretty, but The Other Man is "a colossal waste of time and talent."