Given the way the story is told, "Conversations with Other Women" plays out as somewhat of a romantic mystery demanding a slow, selective unraveling by a keen audience. It follows two deliberately unnamed characters (a man and a woman) through the latter part of a wedding reception and holds on them through their evening together. Earlier works like Richard Linklater's duo "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" come instantly to mind. Although it might not literally be conveyed in real time, there's such immediacy to the conversation that ensues. Like Linklater's films the dialogue heavy film never feels overbearing and stage-like, possibly due to the writing and possibly due to the visual technique that will no doubt color many reviews and comments about the film. It's told with a constant use of split-screen, in an attempt to present two perspectives. Mostly the use of this style assists with pacing, and never fully follows through on the promise of conveying opposing story lines. Regardless the choice to use split-screen never becomes flashy, like it did in when it came into vogue in the mid-1960s, but it does seem more fueled by digital ability than narrative necessity. Whether it's this curious technique, the impressive performances of Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter, or the subtle screen writing, "Conversations with Other Women" seems to effortlessly become one of those quickly cherished works that demands you hang onto every word, every gesture. It's really a beautiful work and has the potential to become a classic love story couples and hopeless romantics will go to for years to come. But it very likely won't.
