hall895 Natalie Portman plays Emilia, the other woman. Emilia had an affair with her boss, Jack. Jack divorced his wife to marry Emilia. Everybody did not live happily ever after. From the moment we first meet her it is obvious Emilia is struggling. There is tension in her marriage, her efforts to be a stepmother to Jack's son are failing miserably. And there is an undercurrent of sadness always lingering, a horrible tragedy having occurred, a tragedy which haunts Emilia. The woman is a wreck, her life is a sad shambles. And she's not getting much sympathy. Jack's first wife Carolyn, not without reason, despises Emilia and does everything she can to make the life of the woman who replaced her completely miserable. Carolyn poisons her son, William, against Emilia. William has no respect for Emilia and acts out against his stepmother in rather cruel ways. All the mothers of William's classmates treat Emilia with utter disdain, scorning her as a home wrecker. Jack is the only person Emilia has to turn to but even that relationship is strained. It's a desperately sad situation yet many people would say Emilia is getting exactly what she deserves.Emilia certainly is not a perfect person by any means. She has gone down some morally deficient paths. And with her cold personality she's a very hard person to warm up to. But as the story unfolds, flashing back to happier times and then to desperately sad times before catching up with the present, you can see where that coldness might come from. This is a woman who has been emotionally wounded in the worst possible way and who carries around an unbearably burdensome guilt. Yes, she made mistakes but she is now doing the best she can to put things right. She could use a little help but that help is very hard to come by. A woman who breaks up a family is not the most sympathetic of characters and that is a bit of a problem for this movie. Because for the movie to work you really have to sympathize with, and pull for, Emilia. And at times that is very hard to do.Portman does a reasonably good job in the starring role. The story requires Emilia to be cold and often unpleasant. Perhaps Portman made Emilia just a little bit too cold for the movie's good. Lisa Kudrow, playing Carolyn, holds nothing back. If Emilia is somewhat cold Carolyn is the absolute ice queen. If anything makes you sympathize with Emilia it is the way Carolyn berates her at every opportunity. Charlie Tahan, playing young William, seems to grow into his role as the movie progresses. At first William comes across like a total brat but the kid has been put in a tough spot. It seems he wants to hurt Emilia but maybe he's just a kid, maybe he doesn't even realize the impact of his words and actions. As the relationship between William and Emilia evolves Tahan and Portman have some nice moments together. And in a movie filled with so much hurt we really need some nice moments. You would think the role of Jack would be vitally important, and it probably should be. But Scott Cohen does not make much of an impression in that role. A few other characters pop up with their own accompanying subplots, most notably Emilia's parents. But the movie is really all about Emilia, all that she has to deal with and her struggles to handle it all. In the end it does not come together perfectly. Things get a little melodramatic and the movie rushes through an awkward ending which doesn't really work. However there are enough good things here to make The Other Woman worth seeing. The story isn't perfect, the characters are flawed but the movie still holds your attention. Not a great movie by any means but reasonably compelling and entertaining.

Jackson Booth-Millard I may have seen a review or discussion for this film on television, it sounded like something I was willing to give a try, and with her recent Oscar win for Black Swan I was intrigued more with the inclusion of the leading actress. Basically twenty two year Emilia Greenleaf (Natalie Portman) is an aspiring Harvard lawyer in Manhattan who despite him being married had a strong crush on her good looking boss and senior partner Jack Woolf (Scott Cohen), and they begin an affair. His marriage with his wife Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow) was a sham, but the son that they had together, five year old William (Charlie Tahan), is his pride and joy, and his marriage finally comes to end when he discovers Emilia is pregnant, divorces his wife and marries his new partner. The only trouble for Emilia is that she cannot bond very well with Jack's son William, the little boy has been poisoned against her and the partnership by Carolyn, and she equally resents him and going backwards and forwards at moments in time we see why she gains this attitude. She already had her own problems with her father who cheated on her mother and constantly womanises, but it is after the death of her baby Isabel that the problems really started between the husband and wife and the child. The baby was born and absolutely fine, but after only three days of life it died in Emilia's arms, she assumes that while sleeping she must have unintentionally smothered Isabel against her, and William does not help the situation asking her questions about it, such as suggesting selling stuff on eBay, specifically the unneeded cribs and toys. As the marriage between her and Jack slowly starts breaking apart because of her grief and feeling of guilt, William unexpectedly is the one who may bring them back together, and in a rare moment of sympathy Carolyn also offers her some comfort, and she is the one that confirms that baby Isabel died from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), so Emilia and the family can move on. Also starring Lauren Ambrose as Mindy, Michael Cristofer as Sheldon, Debra Monk as Laura and Elizabeth Marvel as Pia. Portman is relatively good as the mother trying hard to keep her family but struggling with terrible grief, high guilt and domestic stress, Cohen does alright as the husband trying to help, and Kudrow is actually a good choice as the bitchy ex-wife trying to cause more problems. The story certainly has its needed moving moments, and obviously it is a realistic situation, the only problem is that it is not all paced the right way, the emotions seem a bit too much on occasions, and to be honest I got bored before half way through, so it was a disappointing drama. Adequate!

Chrysanthepop Don Roos's 'Happy Endings' and 'The Opposite of Sex' are among my favourite movies and his 'Web Therapy' is one of my favourite series. Thus, I was quite excited about 'Love and Other Impossible Pursuits' despite the negative reviews. Sadly this one does not match up even close to any of Roos's previous works. The major fault lies in the writing, especially the characterization. Portman's Emilia is a cardboard of a woman going through the loss of her child and is bitter towards everyone around her. Cohen's Jack is the typical husband who's holding it together and Kudrow's Carolyne is the clichéd bitchy ex-wife. Because of the lack of dimension in character, it's hard to judge the acting.However, I'd say the actors did the best with what they're given. The best acting moment is the final sequence between Kudrow and Portman (that takes place in Carolyne's office). Here Kudrow, in a wonderfully subtle way, displays layers of emotions and Portman's reaction is good. The other actors don't get much scope except Charlie Tahan who is quite alright.The movie has a polished look to it. The cinematography is good but the score is very intrusive and adds a feel of melodrama almost like a fluffy TV movie.I haven't read the book and so I cannot tell what Roos took from the book. But he is a talented writer and filmmaker so hope his next venture come close to the aforementioned examples.

Desertman84 The Other Woman,whose original title is Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, is a drama feature that stars Natalie Portman,Lisa Kudrow,Lauren Ambrose and Scott Cohen.The movie is about about life, loss, and family.It is written and directed by Don Roos.The plot is about Emilia,who is a Harvard law school graduate and a newlywed, having just married Jack,a high-powered New York lawyer that was her boss and previously married when she began working at his law firm. Unfortunately, her life takes an unexpected turn when Jack and Emilia lose their newborn daughter. Emilia struggles through her grief to connect with her new stepson William, while also trying to overcome a long-standing rift in her relationship with her father caused by his own infidelity. But perhaps the most difficult obstacle of all for Emilia is trying to cope with the constant interference of her husband's angry, jealous ex-wife, Carolyn. Ultimately, Emilia's and Charlie's playful and sometimes tender exchanges help Emilia to open her heart and later on,she begins to realize that she wasn't responsible for her baby's death and she begins to take new things into perspective as she rediscover her own capacity for love in time.The movie is a big challenge for Natalie Portman as she portrays both the protagonist and the antagonist at the same time.Although I find her role in a gray area,she did decent in responding into the role BUT not enough to call it a great work of hers just like she did in Black Swan. As for the story is concerned,one can either be have pity or be angry with Emilia.Although we see her character develop over the course of the film,viewers may have different opinions in the so-called "other woman". Overall,it was a good film that can help us understand what women go through in life especially when presented in the same situation as Emilia.