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Third Person | 2.5/5

SINGAPORE — I really wanted to like Third Person. It’s director-scriptwriter Paul Haggis’ latest and it boasts the star-studded cast of Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody and Kim Basinger. But I was ready to give up halfway, thanks to the labourious pacing and the tired, sprawling concept of switching between three couples in New York, Paris and Rome. It seemed like the guy behind the overrated and Oscar-winning Crash simply pulled out the same old trick from his bag.

SINGAPORE — I really wanted to like Third Person. It’s director-scriptwriter Paul Haggis’ latest and it boasts the star-studded cast of Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody and Kim Basinger. But I was ready to give up halfway, thanks to the labourious pacing and the tired, sprawling concept of switching between three couples in New York, Paris and Rome. It seemed like the guy behind the overrated and Oscar-winning Crash simply pulled out the same old trick from his bag.

Initially, it worked. Connections were made between the two secondary stories — a downtrodden former soap opera star-turned-hotel maid (Kunis) engaged in a custody battle with her wealthy artist ex-husband (Franco); and a sad-sack businessman (Brody) who’s infatuated with a mysterious beauty in a bar (Moran Atias) — and that of Liam Neeson’s frustrated novelist, who has an affair with Wilde’s feisty character who’s young enough to be his daughter.

The actors are all in top flinty form (Kunis is especially strong in being vulnerable and bruised) but, like what happened in Crash, Haggis seems to have taken on more themes than his story could support, and the idea of using three locations hid some serious weaknesses and potholes in the script.

After a few provocative cross-cuts, combined with some peculiar coincidences and repetitions to suggest a deeper connection among these people, we eventually realise that the more glaring oddities of the script aren’t just sloppy mistakes but details that might suddenly make sense in the end.

But is it all too little too late?

What is disappointing is that for most of the film, it’s a constant struggle to give Haggis, who has proven so much more successful as an award-winning scriptwriter than as a director, the benefit of the doubt. With Third Person’s uncomfortable insistence on not too subtly hitting its characters (and the audience) with a hammer throughout, does the last-second explanation outweigh the two hours we’ve spent rolling our eyes? It’s definitely up for debate. Some will hate it and think nothing of its gimmicky end, while others might love it. Well, at least you’ll have a lively discussion.

(M18,137 mins)

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