Written and directed by Cameron Lee Horace, co-written by Miles Gibson and leading actress Sophie Colquhoun, Maisie narrates the pleasures of youth as sisters, Alice and Lily arrive from memory to confront a life of lust. Also starring: Andy Anson, Fiona Leishman, Joe Snape, Claudia Lindemann, Tim Andrewes, Eva Salotti, Oskar Policha, Adrian Dobson, Lisa Ronaghan and Helen Mae Austin.
When The Other Woman opens, it would be easy to make a quick judgement based on the heavy sentimentality but when you stick with it, it gradually evolves into something else. What that is, is difficult to say, there’s a mixed tone at work throughout, it bounces around between romance, sarcasm, satire and egoism. It’s tricky to get a read on it, there’s a comedic touch but it doesn’t take the lead, there’s also a lingering sadness but not a huge amount of sympathy. Making it quite tough to tell if it’s truly trying to be sincere or satirical.
That initial sentiment is something that it struggles with, particularly in its pastel-esque palette, there’s an overly soft nature to its atmosphere. There are some nicely bitter and spiteful notes which come into play and it’s a shame they’re not more present as they have plenty to add to the story. Otherwise, the style is very much in line with the plot, a walk down memory lane. Although when it reaches its final moments, it can feel somewhat blunt, the story doesn’t seem fully resolved.
Sophie Colquhoun is a big part of the film achieving those sharper notes, there’s even a huge potential for her to become sinister which goes unfulfilled, which would have been fun to watch. She builds a role akin to a narrator, while reliving her own experiences. The rest of the cast all then feed into those memories, serving to question and push her opinions. It’s a good ensemble but without a clear tone or destination, it’s hard to fully bring everything together.
The Other Woman is interestingly difficult to decipher, a nostalgic drama with an unusual trip down memory lane. There are some familiar elements, the direction in particular taking on a classically romantic style and its sweetly emotional atmosphere. However, the dialogue can be bumpy and it doesn’t feel fully committed to a particular tone, hindering it from striking a stronger note.
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