Writer Michael (Liam Neeson) left his wife Elaine (Kim Basinger) and is living in a hotel having an affair with society reporter Anna (Olivia Wilde) who wants his help to write her novel. Former soap star Julia (Mila Kunis) gets a hotel maid job so that she can get visitation rights to her son with her lawyer Theresa Lowry (Maria Bello) and her ex Richard Weiss (James Franco). In Italy, businessman Scott (Adrien Brody) is getting entangled with illegal Monika (Moran Atias) and her young daughter. The three stories intertwine.

Paul Haggis does his interconnected stories again. I like this idea slightly more than Crash. At least, this one isn't trying to preach something obvious. He's not hitting the audience over the head with some kind of social commentary. Neeson and Wilde have a little bit of fun. I find Kunis' character compelling. On the other hand, I hate Brody's story. It starts with the ridiculous bomb scare. The comedy bit about a shoe bomb just makes it so much worse. The hotel clerk discriminating against her is another bad step. A villain would take the money before asking for more. No bad guy would let somebody walk out with the cash. That whole story seems to be a farce. I can't stand Brody's story and the extended running time doesn't help.

The film opens with six or seven short subplots that come together but don't. This is a film one would expect from an indie director with an unknown cast. The film centers on Michael (Liam Neeson) a Pulitzer winner with severe writer's block due to the death of his son. He lives in a Hotel in Paris and it appears much of the film is actually his writings which is cause for much confusion. For instance when he leaves the hotel with his mistress Anna (Olivia Wilde) they are in Paris. When Julia, (Mila Kunis) the maid leaves the hotel, she is in New York (note 212 area code on building). Julia is having trouble getting her life together following the near death of her son as she struggles with social services and her husband for visitation rights.

There is also a weird scene going on in Rome where Scott (Adrien Brody) is stealing designs and meets a woman who needs help.

We don't know what motivates the characters until the end when it comes together.

Michael keeps a journal where he talks about himself in the third person. There is a third person in all the characters' lives and that is a child.

I believe the film is the disjointed writing of a grieving author searching for a topic. For most people, this film will be two plus hours of torture. For those who love films with an indie flare that forces the viewer to get engaged with the art, this one is for you.

Parental Guidance: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Olivia Wilde)

I loved the plot and also the actings, and I truly don't understand the low reviews. I mean, of course it is not an easy film to watch, sometimes it fails to keep your attentions because it does develop slowly and most parts you don't get it right away... But it is a great movie, intelligent and with amazing actings. I confess I didn't get all the points right away and had to do a little research afterwards, but when I got it all, the story became even more beautiful. I gathered some of those points I found important to understand to be able to evaluate the movie properly, so if you don't want spoilers DON'T READ BELOW HERE.

*******SPOILER ALERT*******

1. The writer was NOT in Paris writing his book; he was in Rome. Maybe some people missed this detail (as I did),but when his wife calls him, in the final scene, she asks him, "How's Rome?". And also you can clearly see he's sitting in a café in an Italian city.

2. Everything that happens between the starting scene, when he hears his son's voice on the hotel room "Watch me," and the same voice "Watch me" in the final scene of the film, is part of his book -- including the story about the writer in Paris with his lover. Probably his mistress name was not Anna, and we can notice that she is fictional by how idealized (at least partially) she is: young, pretty, and with sense of humour, and perfect.

* Remember that he always writes in Third Person (not by chance, the name of the movie).

** Perhaps Paris did happen, but not during that time space we are watching the movie. Maybe months ago... Note that his wife calls him twice and both times she asks: "Is she there?", and he always answers "No" -- in the final scene, he still adds "She left me two months ago".

*** Note the references to white in each story: Anna's dress in the final scene is white, the glass of milk the child gives his father is white, and the car in which the American drives away with the gypsy lady is also white. "White the color of trust. And the color of the lies he tells himself" -- says the end of the book.

3. As he atones for his sins through the characters from his book, we know what really happened going from there:

• In real life, he loses his lover when she learns that it was because of her call that his son drowned; in Paris' story, his mistress ("the only true love of his life") comes back to him.

• In real life, he loses his son; in Italy's story, the American saves the gypsy lady's daughter (note that inside the car they look back and smile, and as the camera goes away you can see the silhouette of a child in the back seat of the white car).

• In real life, he never wins back the trust of his ex-wife; in the story with Mila Kunis, James Franco trusts her again after the incident in the elevator.

• In Italy, the American also lost his son.

• In New York, the boy's father is absent and always working, and they do not have a close relationship.

• In Paris, the father used to abuse of Anna, probably since she was a child.