The Other Man (2008)

By John Chard

High Infidelity - High High High High! The Other Man is directed by Richard Eyre who co-adapts the screenplay with Charles Wood from a short story written by Bernhard Schlink. It stars Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Antonio Banderas and Romola Garai. Music is by Stephen Warbeck and cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos. Neeson plays Peter, a tortured husband who upon finding evidence of his wife's infidelity, travels to Milan to confront her lover in the hope of understanding. There is nothing remotely funny about infidelity, it can wreck lives. Sadly The Other Man is a funny film, though not intentionally. It so often misses the beat of real grief and anger, throwing up ridiculous situations that beggar belief, it's often impossible to take seriously, so much so that when the big reveal etc comes crashing forward, the emotional impact is null and void. There's a couple of decent plot turns and the Italian locales are gorgeously photographed, but the script is trite, the score out of sync and ultimately it wastes a damn fine cast. 5/10