Review of Conversations with Other Women (2006) by Ers . — 26 Feb 2011

A man and a woman flirt at a party, and we gradually learn that their history is far more complex and intertwined than at first glance.

This story is told completely using split screen, and though this gimmick works effectively at the end, most of it is truly annoying. Part of writing and filmmaking is about making choices - what to show, what to reveal through dialogue, images, or subtext - and this film abdicates many of the more important choices, electing instead to overload the viewer with too much information.

Also, I found the story rather cliche. We know fairly early what is going to happen here, and though the reveal at the beginning of the second act comes as a bit of a surprise, there isn't much beyond that.

There is an awful lot of dialogue - this is one of the most talky films I've seen recently - but there aren't many memorable lines or moments, and it seems like very little is actually communicated between these two characters.

What I liked were the few moments when the split screen worked to reveal each character as lonely and isolated and when the reaction was just as important as the words.

Overall, even if you find the gimmick interesting, I doubt the basic story will seem all that original.