Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Third Person Blu-ray Movie Review

A great cast does all it can to lift up a hit-and-miss movie.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 12, 2014

Acclaimed Director Paul Haggis, whose previous works include Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated screenplays for Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and Letters from Iwo Jima, has once again taken the writer/director reigns for Third Person, an intimate character drama centered on three individuals in three separate countries, following their stories and slowly revealing the truths and interconnectedness between them. The film is well-constructed and intimately so, supported by an all-star cast that frequently finds the characters' centers beyond even the scripted dialogue and situations in which they find themselves. Yet the film brings little noteworthy to the table, capably working through the template but rarely doing anything all that interesting with it. High marks for craftsmanship and performance but a mediocre grade for finished product.

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In Paris, a former prize-winning writer named Michael (Liam Neeson) is living out of a fancy hotel, plugging away at his latest novel. He's left behind his wife (Kim Basinger) and has received his mistress, Anna (Olivia Wilde), who is living out of a separate room in the same building. In Paris, an American named Scott (Adrien Brody) happens to meet a beautiful woman named Monika (Moran Atias) who has fallen into trouble with foreign gangsters who are holding her child for a hefty ransom. Elsewhere, across the Atlantic in New York, a washed-up television star named Julia (Mila Kunis) is currently separated from her husband Rick (James Franco) and, more impotently, her young son of whom she has been accused of neglect and endangerment.

Even as Third Person rapidly switches between people, places, and plot lines, it remains, largely, a rather coherent and engrossing tale of life and love, of love at a confused stage, of love at a burgeoning stage, of love at a separated stage. All of the characters work through relationships that are superficially dissimilar but that, at the same time, work through underlying notes that ring familiar to the companion stories they play against. Audiences never feel disconnected even as the plot shifts, never feel unwelcome even as locations change, never feel lost even as stories revolve and evolve. Yet the film works better on its macro level, as it builds its characters and their centers in its earlier stages. It loses a bit of its luster as it progresses through to a number of reveals, as the character interconnections begin to take shape and as secrets come to light. Haggis seems to stretch the material to its limits, and then some, forcing the characters to constantly stumble and fall further into despair and frequently ask similar questions that slow the pace and delay the resolution. Yet the characters are strong enough, and their core stories sufficiently sound, that the film maintains a watchability and sense of mystery until the end, even if that end -- or, better said, perhaps, ends -- doesn't exactly meet with expectations or audience desires.

The film's unquestioned strength is its cast. Despite the script never really reaching for anything novel and the story never taking any dramatically interesting turns, the performers maintain an air of excellence, helping to develop the story and the characters they play with an evident passion that supersedes the various plot threads. Liam Neeson, who has recently become almost typecast as something of an Action hero in films like Taken and its sequel, Non-Stop, and the upcoming A Walk Among the Tombstones, displays a more intimate, a more deeply character-oriented façade here, portraying with keen insight a struggling writer and lover whose later years of life seem destined to plummet rather than soar, even as the beauty of his words struggle to escape and the beauty in his arms seems always at arm's length. Olivia Wilde excels as his muse and an aspiring writer whose secrets are more dangerous than her looks. Mila Kunis finds an intensity as a broke and broken mother facing the most difficult challenge of her life, while Adrian Brody convincingly falls for a woman that has warning signs written all over her. The film's supporting cast is superb, too, with Maria Bello, Kim Basinger, and James Franco all excellent supportive roles.

Third Person Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Third Person looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Sony's 1080p presentation is a gorgeous example of top-of-the-line HD sourced material. Though it lacks the character of film, the clarity and accuracy the digital photography provides shines on Blu-ray. Details are crisp and precise in every moment. There's not a soft edge or blurry background to be seen. Clothing lines, facial features, fancy hotel appointments, paint canvas, pretty much every on-screen object enjoys a legitimately tactile, perfectly defined appearance. Colors are bold and pleasing. The palette is not loud but instead beautifully representative of life, displaying every shade, from the boldest red to the palest off-white, with incredible precision. Black levels satisfy and flesh tones appear accurate. No digital anomalies are present. This is a top-flight effort from Sony from top to bottom.

Third Person Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Third Person is a dialogue-intensive Drama, but that doesn't mean a flat, lifeless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. On the contrary, it handles everything given to it with a precision and nuance that's pleasing to the ear. Musical delivery is smooth and even, whether light background score or heavier club beats that envelop the listening area and pulse with a powerful low end in chapter nine. City din and minor background effects are equally pleasing and naturally implemented into the stage. Dialogue delivery, as expected, flows effortlessly and with lifelike clarity from the center channel. This is an excellent listen from Sony.

Third Person Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Third Person contains a fairly basic set of extras.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Paul Haggis, Production Designer Laurence Bennett, Editor Jo Francis, Producer Michael Nozik, and Actor Moran Atias share a smooth, easygoing commentary that recounts all of the basics but also opens up some of the doors that are a little hard to crack after an initial watching. Audiences fascinated by the film, and the filmmaking process, will find this track invaluable.
• Q&A with Writer/Director Paul Haggis (1080p, 33:29): Moderator Pete Hammond sits down with the director to discuss the film.
• The Making of Third Person (1080p, 9:49): A look at the basic ideas the film strings together, character construction, and performances.
• Third Person Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:12).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Third Person Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Third Person means well and is marvelously performed, but it feels empty in its second half, when the excellence of its first should bear the most fruit. Instead, it succumbs to too many twists and an abundance of turns that stretch the film thin and wear away the welcome it so precisely built in its early stages. There are fascinating characters and interplay here, but the film leaves viewers wanting and wondering rather than satisfied with the reveals. Sony's Blu-ray release of Third Person does deliver top-tier video, strong lossless audio, and several supplements. It's worth watching, but viewers should keep expectations in check and bring a pot of coffee for the second half.