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Conversations with Other Women

EMAILPRINTFabrication Films

Conversations with Other Women reviews
62
8.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Drama  |  Romance

Written by: Gabrielle Zevin

Directed by: Hans Canosa

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 11, 2006
DVD: January 9, 2007

Running Time: 84 minutes, Color

Origin: UK / USA

Summary

RATING: R for language and sexual content

Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart, Nora Zehetner, Erik Eidem, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Cerina Vincent, and Brianna Brown

When a man and a woman flirt with each other at a wedding reception, the sexual tension between them seems spontaneous. But as the conversation deepens, their previous life together is gradually revealed. As they break from the party to a hotel room, the flirtation turns into a night filled with passion and remorse. (Fabrication Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

88

New York Post Kyle Smith

It's brilliant work.

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83

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

The entire film is shot in split screen. Each of the unnamed characters is photographed separately in their own slice of space, the images sutured together with a purposeful imperfection, with occasional overlap and rare moments of union. It gives them the appearance of dancing around one another, almost touching but never getting past the years of emotional scar tissue, even as they work their way to her hotel room.

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80

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

I found the film powerfully erotic, although it has minimal nudity and no explicit sex.

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75

TV Guide Ken Fox

The fine acting and sexy chemistry between Bonham Carter and Eckhart make it work.

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75

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Conversations is well-calculated and well-ordered, and it manages an equilibrium that a science lab would envy.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A smart, sexy romantic drama, directed within an inch of its life by Hans Canosa.

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75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The charm of Conversations With Other Women, a gimmicky but oddly moving two-character drama that flies in from who knows where, is its intelligentknowingness.

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75

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

For once, the gimmick is a perfect reflection of the characters.

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70

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

The film ultimately becomes too contrived to be anything but a fleeting diversion, but kudos to these emerging filmmakers for daring to make something a little bit different and, for the most part, intriguing.

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70

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

An intimate movie in every sense, Conversations With Other Women sets out to explore well-trammeled yet at the same time uncharted territory without grinding any axes. What it offers is a modest fantasy that will be familiar to contemporaries of Bonham Carter and Eckhart especially. It's sad and funny, satisfying and frustrating, totally familiar.

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70

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Though the movie is occasionally too clever-talky for its own good, it has the authentic ring of an elegy for love lost when one partner grows up while the other runs in place.

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67

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The actors, who portray a reunion that is more sparring match than love fest, strike occasional sparks.

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63

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

This minor relationship picture comes and goes, but her (Carter's) performance lingers.

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60

Empire Anna Smith

Witty and articulate but the continual editing devices can distract from the momentum.

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60

The New York Times Dana Stevens

None of it is quite believable -- the film is too studied, too forward in its conceits to be entirely satisfying -- but Mr. Eckhart and Ms. Bonham Carter approach their roles with intelligence and conviction.

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60

Variety Todd McCarthy

The battle of the sexes is restaged to clever but inconsequential effect in Conversations With Other Women. Very much a case of old wine in a new bottle.

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60

The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore

That the movie holds viewers' attention despite its contrivances is a testament to the script and acting.

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50

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

In the end, the problem with Conversations with Other Women is not that it pulls an ordinary romance into unfamiliar shapes but that it doesn't pull far enough. It may be dotted with fine observations, yet somehow the charm of its novelty grows stale, and the airless feeling of a closed set begins to fester.

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50

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Theirs is an affair not worth remembering.

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30

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Despite the resourcefulness of the two leads, the movie finally registers as much ado about very little.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Catriona B. gave it an8:
It reminded me of a play - with the split screen you are looking at one actor, but can see the other out of the corner of your eye, without completely taking in what they are doing. As Chuck mentioned above, it would be interesting to see it again from the other perspective. Very much enjoyed it and the chemistry between the leads is beautiful to watch and very real.

Cynthia H. gave it a9:
A brilliant piece of work!! Though it was so distracting to watch the split screens at the beginning, the story just draws you in. The conversation, as well as the chemistry and tension between the 2 people are captivating.

Paul B. gave it an8:
The split screen takes some getting use to, but it actually wins you over and become an integral part of the movie. I'm not much for clever 'new' techniques, but this one eventually worked. As for the story, it was simple but well-acted. If you've ever been in love with someone and you both knew there wouldn't have a happy ending, you'll definitely relate to this story. The characters were real and the dialogue was simple. Charming movie.

Chuck R. gave it an8:
I thought, at first, that the split screen would drive me crazy, but after a few minutes became absorbed in the film. It's a different way of telling an old story, and therefore adds something to it. I saw it a second time so that I could see "how it was done." And I saw a slightly different movie the second time, presumably because I changed the frames I was focused on.

Golly T. gave it a10:
Best movie of the year, by far. Great performances, brilliant use of split screen.

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