Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Hans Canosa
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Helena Bonham Carter, Thomas Lennon, Brian Geraghty, Nora Zehetner, Erik Eidem
RunTime: 1 hr 26 mins
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Rating: M18 (Scenes of Intimacy)
Official Website: http://www.conversationsthemovie.com

Opening Day: 29 March 2007

Synopsis:

"Conversations with Other Women" tells the compelling story of a couple whose reunion at a wedding reception ignites a mysterious attraction for each other that is deeper and more emotionally perilous than they are willing to admit. At a New York City wedding reception, two guests, seemingly strangers, become entangled in a sexually-charged battle of wits. But as the night carries on in a cigarette smoke haze, the nameless couple's repartee deepens to reveal the passion of their two decades past love affair. Escaping the party for a hotel room, the two are soon gripped by their mutual past and the individual choices that lead them to the present. Unfolding entirely in split-screen, director Hans Canosa's feature debut is an unconventional and poignant love story.

Movie Review:

Initially this movie felt like it was going to be lesson on how to hook up at a wedding, a la “Wedding Crasher” albeit in more serious and realistic tone. But shortly into the film, the film shift gears and turned out to be like Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunset”, where two lovers are trying to get a grip on their decision in the past in the very short span of time that they got.

Like “Before Sunset”, it’s a movie where you got the two lead characters talking about the what had been, the what might be and what’s in store for them. In another word, if you are not one that likes movies that are overfilled with conversations between just two characters, this is one movie to stay away from.

But if you got the patience and the interest , read on.

The first thing that you probably noticed early on in the film would be that this movie is presented in split screen. It might take a while to get used to but it’s definitely not a gimmicky trick to pull viewers into the theatres to watch a movie that already had such similar theme with another movie that was mention earlier in this review. Using the split screen, it helps to bring across the two very different perspectives of the lead characters that want to come together but somehow couldn’t. Even when the two screens are side by side, it fails to form a singular picture, painting the impossibility of these two coming together or share a life together in the future.

Another good use of this split screen was to show the memories of these two characters at the same time with what going on in the present. As there are plenty of references to what went on in the past, the split screen showcase a very conflicted past and present.

The usage of two camera system pushed the limits of the actors’s ability as it works like the way musicians play in a duet. Two cameras on them during all the acting, dialogue and reaction at the both sides of the frame in real time and that means it requires both actors to be performing at their best all the time. The technique worked as it enhances the emotional impact between Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter as they conversed through their past and their passion for each other.

Overall, this dual frame format helps to presents a strong narration of a poignant tale of two ex lovers meeting again after a long period of absence and contributes to a more multifaceted and complete viewing experience of the different perspective of these two.

Movie Rating:

(“Like Before Sunset, Conversations with Other Women is a poignant tale of the “what if” in relationship, told in the most unconventional way”)

Review by Richard Lim Jr