The Other Woman

Natalie Portman was one of the executive producers of 2011's The Other Woman, and on the surface it's easy to see what appealed to her about the role. Instead of the pixieish waif she usually plays, the character of Emilia Greenleaf is consistently unpleasant. It's also a film about grief, hinging on the death of a baby, which is always something I wince at, whether in a film or a book, because it's like a writer bringing out the heavy guns when a pea shooter will do.

Written and directed by Don Roos, based on a novel by Ayelet Waldman, Portman's character is the second wife of an attorney, Scott Cohen. They met at the law firm they both work at, though he was married to an obstetrician, Lisa Kudrow. Cohen has an eight-year-old son, Charlie Tahan, who Portman doesn't know to how to get along with. She is sensitive to being labeled as a homewrecker.

The main plot thread, though, is that Portman and Cohen had a baby, which died after three days. We don't really know what Portman was like before the baby was born--we only see her lusting after Cohen. Thus our view of her is colored as she behaves abysmally to everyone--husband, stepson, mother, father--and it's excused by her grief. But, as Cohen tells her, the child's death is not an excuse for to hurt others. He says this at the end of the film--I wish he had said it before.

The film is overcooked, and so is Portman's character. She may have appreciated getting a juicy part, but she dominates the film and is unpleasant to spend time with. Kudrow has the unfortunate task of playing the woman scorned, and thus a bitch on wheels. She does something kind for Portman at the end, but it still seems somehow nasty.

There's very little about this film that feels authentic. Tahan is a fine juvenile actor, and expresses what is probably normal confusion about his situation, but the rest of it is just mush. The film was first premiered at Toronto in September 2009, but sat on the shelf until February 2011, no doubt released to take advantage of Portman's spotlight winning the Academy Award.