by MARK SLUTSKY

Everybody knows that there are two sides to every story, but whether this old adage needs a literal illustration is debatable. Director Hans Canosa has decided to make a go of it, however, with his new film Conversations With Other Women. The movie is presented entirely in split-screen (or, as the filmmakers call it, “dual-frame”), in an attempt, one presumes, to portray the varying perspectives of the two lead characters, and perhaps to confer a certain sense of intimacy.

It’s basically a filmmaking gimmick, and one that stares you in the face for the entire movie. So you’ve got to give Canosa kudos, at least, for taking such a risk—too bad the technique is ultimately more annoying than insightful.

The movie stars Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter as unnamed characters billed only as “The Man” and “The Woman,” respectively. The two meet and flirt at a wedding, and it soon becomes apparent that they have a past. They retire to a hotel room where they spend the night and revisit their history, their memories and regrets.

All the while, yes, it’s shown in split-screen. It’s a little confusing as to what the exact purpose of the technique is, though—is it meant to be a visual He Said, She Said, with each side of the screen representing the point of view of each character? Kinda, but it doesn’t really stick to that. The split-screen is also used as a narrative device, as occasionally one of the frames is used to show brief flashbacks of the two characters’ younger lives.

There’s something that the eye really doesn’t like about watching this for an hour and a half. The net effect is claustrophobic; there aren’t many cuts and the actors tend to fill their entire frame, so you feel like you’re really stuck in tight with them.

Eckhart and Carter are good, sure, but the script errs a little too much on the side of the cutesy, at least as we’re getting to know them through their playful, if loaded, flirting. Conversations With Other Women often feels like being trapped at a wedding table with some annoying, if good-looking strangers.

Conversations With Other Women opens Friday, AuG. 11

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