“The Other Woman” did not receive critical praise. In fact, as an on-demand option on some cable networks, it darn near was a straight-to-video release. A story about a home-wrecker is simply not a film that’s going to get high praise from the viewing public. There are a lot of people who have visceral reactions to the generic "other woman" --- there is almost no way they will see this character as someone with whom they can identify or empathize. And for that reason, this concept was commercially doomed. Too many people's lives have been affected by infidelity for them to have much of a reaction but disgust or anger. In American literature and movies, the adulteress must get her just desserts for what she's done --- often with her life, or at the very least, any chance at happiness.
And that is essentially what happens to Emilia in “The Other Woman.” After having a seemingly targeted affair with Jack, one of the top lawyers at the firm where she works after graduating from Harvard Law School, Emilia finds herself pregnant. And at this point, the film makes a gracious leap forward in the timeline, bypassing matters of Jack and Carolyne’s divorce and picking up at the point where Jack and Emilia are getting married. But Emilia’s moral debt comes due when Isabel, the child conceived in sin, dies a few days after birth. As the story moves on, we see Emilia sinking into a mix of depression, guilt, and a profoundly awkward relationship with a profoundly awkward William, Jack’s son from the previous marriage. William comes out with some very inappropriate comments (and classroom drawings), even for a pre-adolescent --- one wonders whether there’s a medical or if it’s simply a parroting of Carolyne’s snarky and vindictive attitude. The upshot of it is that Emilia is shown regressing into kid-thought, at times becoming like a second child in the household. She graduated from Harvard Law and can’t seem to win a household argument against a little boy, and is somewhat desperate to justify herself and prove that she was in the right. For instance, when she takes lactose-intolerant William out for ice cream after school and the boy proceeds to soil his pants at a party, Emilia is relieved to find out that some other kids at that party later had that issue as well. She calls to have Jack tell Carolyne that the incident wasn’t her fault… as if it were a huge matter. But to Emilia, burdened with the weight of grave responsibility, it is. And it’s here that I’d like to point out Portman’s nuanced acting that reflects many undercurrents just beneath the surface, but with an exterior façade of appropriate coping. As much as she plays a naïve and neurotic ballerina in “Black Swan,” Portman had to show much more in “The Other Woman.”
After an emotional blowout at a remembrance event in Central Park, where she yells at her father for his infidelity (and seemingly, yelling at herself for her own), Emilia is at a crossroads. She confides a dark secret she’s been harboring --- she believes she smothered Isabel when she fell asleep in bed with her. And here’s where the film has one of its more intriguing moments. Carolyne (played by Lisa Kudrow in a complete cold, bitchy polarity to her “Friends” role of Phoebe) puts aside her loathing of this “Other Woman” and shows some true compassion as she explains to Emilia that there was no chance she accidentally suffocated Isabel. And then the glint of compassion is gone as quickly as it arrived. In many ways, Carolyne’s reaction in this scene tacks closely with the audiences’ view of Emilia. She’s not to blame in the scope of Isabel’s death, but in the larger picture, we won’t forget that she’s no saint.
And so it goes in relationship stories that boy must lose girl (or in this case, vice versa) and Jack decides that Emilia’s behavior is just too much for him. Until, several weeks (or months) later, boy and girl bump into each other, and the time and distance has made them each see the situation more clearly.
“The Other Woman” doesn’t get rave reviews among critics or on the discussion boards. I understand that. It doesn’t deal with popular subject matter. There are many who point and write “J’accuse!” at the screenplay's and novel's writers and intimate that they must be cheaters themselves in order to have this relatively kind treatment. There are many viewers who might want to see the “Other Woman” of the title pay more dearly for her sin. They might prefer that the character of Emilia got some form of cancer and died repeating how remorseful she was for her adultery. Make no mistake that we still live in that kind of world, and that as much as people preach forgiveness (and perhaps they feel forgiveness, too; albeit a guarded brand of it), they are less willing to wish for future happiness for the scarlet woman. And also, to posit the question here, what would our thoughts be if Isabel hadn’t died? Was Isabel's death necessary to redeem Emilia’s sin or sway some measure of audience sympathy? I rather think so… and what a sad circumstance that is necessary for sympathy and forgiveness. How much must be endured before this person is allowed to love again? Emilia is a flawed character in a film mostly full of flawed characters --- and indeed, in a world full of flawed people.
(Photo © "The Other Woman" (2009). IMDB page.)
(Photo © "The Other Woman" (2009). IMDB page.)
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