Third Person

Writer-director Paul Haggis returns to the template of his 2004 Oscar winner Crash, intertwining story threads involving disparate characters in order to create a commentary on the theme of loss and loneliness. Michael (Liam Neeson), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist estranged from his wife (Kim Basinger), is working on a book in a Paris hotel, where he's visited by his young lover (Olivia Wilde), with whom he engages in games of sexual one-upmanship. Meanwhile, Scott (Adrien Brody), an American who is in Rome to steal designs from a high-end fashion house, meets a seductive gypsy woman (Moran Atias) in a bar and decides to help rescue her daughter, who the woman claims is being held hostage by a smuggler. And in New York City, a high-strung actress (Mila Kunis) and her lawyer (Maria Bello) are trying to secure visits with her son, who's been placed in the custody of his father (James Franco). As the film shuttles among these plots, viewers are bound to notice some chronological and topographical oddities, which Haggis explains with a twist ending that ties the various strands together and points back to the very beginning. Ultimately, Haggis is better at intellectual structuring than emotional dramatization, but even with a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion Third Person still raises interesting and troubling questions, and the acting impresses across the board. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Paul Haggis, costar Moran Atias, production designer Laurence Bennett, editor Jo Francis, and producer Michael Nozik, a Q&A with Haggis (34 min.), a “making-of” featurette (10 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a thought-provoking film.] (F. Swietek)