Third Person (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 137 minutes, R), which was just released this week on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD, is an ambitious narrative centering on love and betrayal that takes place in Paris, Rome, and New York. Directed and penned by Paul Haggis (Crash, In the Valley of Elah), the project took Haggis over two and a half years to finish.
Some moviegoers were perplexed and frustrated by the film’s ambiguity and puzzle laden storyline, but if you’re inspired by non-linear, perspective shifting tales (Third Person is partially inspired by such films as Blow-Up and The Passenger), then Third Person is worth your attention.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The three storylines from Third Person are as follows:
Paris: Liam Neeson is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer who’s suffering a creative crises. Selfish and self-indulgent to the core, he spends his day with a younger colleague (Olivia Wilde) who’s trying to get her own career off the ground. Though both of them are madly in love with each other, continued manipulations and deceit drive a wedge to their union.
Rome: Adrien Brody is a businessman who becomes instantly infatuated with a gypsy (Moran Atias) while drinking at a bar. Upon learning the woman’s daughter was kidnapped, he gets embroiled in an operation that places his life in danger.
New York: A former soap opera actress turned maid (Mila Kunis) is in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband/artist (James Franco). Even with a competent lawyer by her side (Maria Bello), her continued irresponsibility leads to dire consequences.
Eventually, all of these stories intersect in a huge twist that can, depending on the viewer, be deemed infuriating or creatively invigorating.
Special features on this disc include:
The Making of Third Person (9:50)- The featurette on the making of the flick, contains the opening Paul Haggis comment: “I always hope the same thing when I’m making a film, which is just to write an interesting story and then tell it well.” Liam Neeson, Adrian Brody, Moran Atias, Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis, Maria Bello, and producer Michael Nozik are among the cast and crew interviewed on the segment.
Filmmaker Commentary – Paul Haggis, Moran Atias, producer Michael Nozik, production designer Laurence Bennett, and editor Jo Francis are on the commentary track. If you’ve already the seen the movie and are a bit confused with the story’s final chapter, this commentary breaks everything down and leaves no questions left unanswered.
Q&A With Paul Haggis (33:29) – A KCET Cinema Series Q&A moderated by Pete Hammond, this special feature is a must watch if you’re curious about Paul Haggis’ writing process. Haggis is very lively and frank during the chat, and Hammond was more than up to the task as the interviewer.
In the media clip below, Mila Kunis explains why she loved exploring her character in Third Person:
Third Person is now out on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
