The ability to
enjoy Third Person relies entirely on the viewer’s level of patience and
willingness to accept significance and meaning to outweigh any emotional
attachment to the characters. Many of the storylines and the characters in the
film are contrivances meant to hammer in the thematic points, which take on
more significance than believability or being relatable. This isn’t for lack of
effort from the cast, however, who all give dedicated performances to filmmaker
Paul Haggis’ vision.
The film tells
three separate stories which seem unrelated for much of the film, loosely tied
together with a final cinematic revelation. The primary narrative seems to be
Michael (Liam Neeson), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who is holed up in a Paris Rome
(played by Adrien Brody), who helps an Italian woman (Moran Atias) in peril,
and the story of Julia (Mila Kunis) and Rick (James Franco) in New York
It isn’t really
important how these stories connect. What is
significant is how well made and how entertaining they are too watch.
Although I was never bored watching these actors, I couldn’t help but feel that
about 65 % of the film’s content was either unnecessary or indiscernible. The
dialogue is not as clever as the cast deserves, and there are narrative loose
ends answered only by a purposefully authorship-oriented ending.
The Blu-ray release
includes a high definition presentation which does not improve or distract from
the flaws, or even effect the most admirable qualities of the film. The special
features include a commentary track with director Haggis, actress Atias,
production designer Laurence Bennett, editor Jo Francis and producer Michael
Nozik. There is also a Q&A with
Haggis and a generic making-of featurette.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
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