Movie #850 "The Other Woman" -- I must go on record that if Natalie Portman were just reciting the Gettysburg Address, I'd want to be there because I usually like everything she does, so when I saw this film in my queue (I had forgotten about it), I jumped at the chance to see it. I must say, the film has stayed with me longer than many of the others I have seen these first few days of 2014.....I guess I have never seen a film quite like it. I was most drawn in by the naturalness of the dialogue. I guess lots of stuff said in divorces have been sugar coated to me ---- people seem so "civil" in the transitioning of one family life to two family lives, but this one...........hmmm. Lots of mean stuff said . I had trouble believing the Lisa Kudrow person because she was a bit over the top at times, but Portman's part was so real --- and the little boy she played off of was, too,... "warts and all" real. I felt the same way in watching them connect as I did way back when ........the first time I saw Ms. Portman, in a film entitled "Beautiful Girls" (which I would recommend, just to see the scenes between her (about 15 years old?) and Timothy Hutton. Wow! I remember sitting Dave down and asking him to watch the scenes, one after another, and to see what he thought of the actress (it was understood to us, ever since "Ordinary People" that Timothy Hutton was stellar, but who was this little girl who could stand her own? Well, it was good to see her again, this time the older one, playing opposite this little boy. The film was best when watching these two connect and grow in a relationship, and less the husband and her, or Lisa Kudrow and her. The film is about grief --- Portman has lost a baby (you know that right from the beginning)and that's tough to watch, really tough, but as long as you know that, this might be a film you find engaging. I did.
The Other Woman2009R102 minutes I give this film 4 stars out of 5.
Romance becomes reality for Emilia Greenleaf (Natalie Portman), who wins the heart of the handsome object of her affection (Scott Cohen), only to find that the relationship comes with some very real baggage -- including her new beau's troubled son (Charlie Tahan). Don Roos directs the film adaptation of Ayelet Waldman's compelling novel, co-starring Lisa Kudrow, Lauren Ambrose and Elizabeth Marvel.
- Cast:
- Natalie Portman, Scott Cohen, Lisa Kudrow, Charlie Tahan, Lauren Ambrose, Michael Cristofer, Debra Monk,Mona Fastvold, Anthony Rapp, Kendra Kassebaum
- Genre:
- Indie Dramas, Dramas Based on Contemporary Literature, Dramas Based on the Book, Drama
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