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Conversations with Other Women

Conversations with Other Women is the best movie I've seen since Children of Men but completely and wholly different in terms of tone. The technical mastery and sheer interestingness of the shots on screen themselves are comparable, though.

Here's the thing, though: I can't (well, won't) tell you about the plot. You need to trust me. It's quality. But you're going to have to netflix this movie (or just go a head and buy it from amazon) without reading the descriptions. Just do it. You'll be happier for it, I swear. 

The problem with movies primarily comprised of two people talking is usually that there's not all that much to look at. Talking-head movies, they're called. Particularly when you have an unnamed man and an unnamed woman talking about a relationship, current, past, theirs or theirs with others. But here's where the genius comes in: Conversations with Other Women is shot entirely in split screen. It could've turned gimicky but in each scene there's just so much to look at, so many different places to focus your attention, so many different things to see and so many unconventional (and amazingly better) ways of portraying stuff that we've seen a thousand times. You've never seen flirting 'til you've seen it in split screen. Gorgeous.

And the other thing about movies comprised primarily of two people talking is that usually the talking's not all that good. Conversations with Other Women solves that by continually playing with your expectations. (Part of why I won't talk about the plot. At all.) And even once it stops playing with your expectations, the split screen still allows for it to become playful--or, subjective?--with time and space and branch out a little.

And, if you've seen Thank You for Smoking, you know that Aaron Eckhart can be trusted with a large amount of text. Helena Bonham Carter does tremendously well, also.

Fuck, this movie's just excellent.

10/10 

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