'Third Person': The interlocking of multiple stories is more confusing than illuminating
Writer-director Paul Haggis likes to mash multiple story lines together.聽The Oscar-winning, vastly overrated 鈥淐rash鈥� is his signature movie,聽and now he鈥檚 back with 鈥淭hird Person,鈥� another drama-orama that, like聽鈥淐rash,鈥� piles up stories that aren鈥檛 all that much worth telling in the first聽place.
There鈥檚 Mila Kunis playing a struggling New York hotel maid聽attempting to secure visitation rights to her young son, who is living with聽his artist dad in an expensive loft apartment. The artist is played by James聽Franco, from whom we haven鈥檛 heard much lately.聽There鈥檚 also Adrien Brody as a knock-off clothing designer in Rome聽who becomes infatuated with a Romanian gypsy (played by Israeli actress聽Moran Atias) who claims her 8-year-old daughter is being held for ransom. The best of the three stories has Liam Neeson playing聽a famous, washed-up novelist holed up in a swank Parisian hotel. He聽summons from America a girlfriend, played by Olivia Wilde, to join聽him, and their fun soon turns sour.
The best scene in the movie is also its聽funniest: Wilde鈥檚 character, stark naked, is locked out of her lover鈥檚 room聽and, in retreat, scampers helplessly through the expensive hallways.聽All three story lines eventually interlock in a semimystical way that is聽more 鈥淗uh?鈥� than 鈥淲ow!鈥� Grade: C+ (Rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity.)
