Liam Neeson is a writer doing writerly things in Paris, estranged from his wife (Kim Basinger) after a family tragedy, and making up for lost time with his damaged young mistress (Olivia Wilde).
Mila Kunis is recently a NY hotel maid, the latest in a string of terrible jobs she can’t hold onto. Her lawyer (Maria Bello) is losing patience with her flimsy excuses for constantly missing court – should the custody battle she’s locked in with her ex (James Franco) be her first priority?
Adrien Brody is in Italy to track down designs he can knock-off when he runs into a beautiful woman in a bar (Moran Atias) with a sob story about stolen money and the smuggler who’s holding her daughter ransom.
Three couples, three cities, three stories, 1 movie, by the king of interwoven story lines himself, Paul Haggis. What do they have in common? Kids? Rocky relationships? Trust issues? Wonky coincidences? Unreliable narrators? A 
weird triangle with an awkward “third person”? Or something a little more…literary? I found this flick on Netflix and wondered how such a monstrously recognizable cast had flown under the radar.
There are definitely small details scattered throughout Third Person that deliberately do not make sense, yet are major hinges to the plot. The stories are vaguely interconnected, but shouldn’t be. They should be divided by the rules of time and space which our universe obeys, but aren’t. It’s damn subtle though, ambitious in its reach. The kind of thing that’ll itch your brain, make you squint at the TV, make your constantly 
ask your partner “Okay, what?” Haggis’s gimmick overwhelms the movie, and the cracking chemistry between stars just isn’t enough to make up for it.
As frustrating as the film’s structure is, there’s also an underlying message that to me was even more disturbing. The men are all pricks and the women are all passive victims. In one vignette, a character actually says “Women have the gift of being able to deny any reality” but you know what, Paul Haggis? This woman is staring reality in the balls and calling it what it is: a waste of talented actors, pretentious without being smart, and a bit of a bore.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Great review! I was as surprised as you to see this cast in a movie I hadn’t heard of. It made sense that I hadn’t heard of it in the end. Definitely a misfire and definitely a waste of a great ensemble.
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So this movie isn’t really that good!! A pity, such a good cast!!! Am surprised I didn’t know about it!!
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That’s pretty much how I felt!
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I was starting to wonder how the heck a movie with that cast had completely passed me by but then, well, your review pretty much explained why. Think I’ll be giving this one a miss!
– Allie
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Yes, the cast gave me pause on Netflix. What the heck? But yeah, totally missable.
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I watched this and it was so twisted, I still think about it!
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I watched this years ago, I think I liked it, but I can’t remember a thing about it now. That probably speaks volumes.
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Yeah, it’s not a great endorsement. But at least you were an early adopter!
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Ohh this is my kinda movie. Wow..Basinger I didn’t even know she was still acting:)) anyway, yes!! Great review, I wanna see this.
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Boo! I’m very disappointed this isn’t on Netflix over here. James Franco and Adrian Brody! And Liam Neeson! Even though it sounds like the kinda contrived, pretentious trash I’d dislike, how could I ignore those three!?
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I’m not fond of the big ensemble pieces like this. I know why the actors do them, though. They don’t have to be on set for all that long.
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They sure pump out these vignette movies quite often – more in the last bunch of years than any other I can remember.
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I hadn’t even heard of this before. I was initially intrigued by ‘Liam Neeson is a writer doing writerly things in Paris…’ but when I saw it’s by Paul Haggis, I knew it’s likely not worth a watch. What a waste of such talents!
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Weird seeing Liam Neeson in something other than an action movie lately. Sounds like the story isn’t any better though.
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