Lately, it seems as you can’t turn around and not see Natalie Portman in a movie. “Black Swan,” “No Strings Attached,” “Your Highness,” “Thor” and now a quaint little tearjerker, “The Other Woman.” It’s hard to imagine that someone who so flatly portrayed the mother of the great Luke Skywalker could act, but Portman is quickly garnering tons of praise for her acting chops and “The Other Woman” is a perfect example of that.
“The Other Woman” is the story of Emilia Greenleaf’s (Portman) relationship with the people in her life in the wake of her infant daughter’s untimely death. Emilia’s relationship with her husband, Jack (Scott Cohen), has become a shell of what it was before and Emilia struggles with her relationship with her stepson, William (Charlie Tahan). Emilia realizes that she can’t get through this tragedy on her own, but it may be too late to get the help of her family, whom she has systematically pushed away.
Portman is proving that she has an ability to portray a wide variety of roles. While recently best known for her Oscar-winning performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” I believe that her performance here is just as strong. The movie opens with Emilia leaving her apartment to go and pick up William. As she leaves, she quickly glances at an unwrapped baby stroller. One of the most revealing scenes is when Emilia arrives at the school and waits for William. She begins speaking to a new mother, and the mother comments that the other mothers are staring intently. Emilia replies that the mothers are scared of her and that there is no such thing as a homewrecker. While the fact that Emilia and Jack had an affair is quite apparent from the title of the film, it is fun to hear the quick wit Portman brings to the role.
Portman’s supporting cast is strong. Cohen is good as Jack, doing a great job at portraying a character that is trying to keep his new family together. While Portman and Cohen have a good chemistry onscreen, their story wasn’t the most interesting. The relationship between Emilia and William is the most interesting, and Tahan does a great job. While having lunch together, William brings up eBay to Emilia. The conversation starts off innocently enough, but William upsets Emilia when he suggests she sell the baby’s things on eBay to make some extra money. His character comes off as a spiteful brat at first, but you quickly learn he is just a kid who is being used by his mother as a way to hurt his father.
The biggest problems I have with the movie are a few elements of the story. Emilia’s road to recovery is the basic storyline that interweaves with her relationship with her family around her. It is the side storylines that leave the movie a little choppy and overloaded. There is a rather long flashback showing how Emilia and Jack became a couple and the backstory doesn't really add much overall. My biggest problem with the story is Emilia’s relationship with her father. She is bitter toward him being around the family because he had an affair. The bitterness doesn't really seem pertinent to the movie and comes off as quite hypocritical considering Emilia and Jack’s relationship started from an affair.
“The Other Woman” is an uplifting story of how a person deals with grief and shows that the love of the people around us can help us heal.
The special features are very skimpy, including only the movie trailer. This is forgivable because the movie is good enough on its own.
Film: 3.5
Extras: .5