Three '3' (2010) - ★★★½

Director: Tom Tykwer
Writer: Tom Tykwer
Stars: Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow

There’s something about this movie that will stick in my mind forever. It’s far from great, but there are great things in it. I really enjoyed the story, the music, the cinematography and the performances. If this film is lacking anything, I guess it would be decent character development. The three stars were all fine on their own, but together they lacked chemistry and a spark to suck me into their sticky situation. At times I was a little bored, but for the most part I found 3 to be extremely interesting.

It’s about Hannah and Simon, a middle-aged couple that has been dating for 20 years. They’ve lost the spark in their relationship; constantly faking orgasms and getting bored with each other’s company. Everything gets a bit twisted when Hannah meets Adam, a handsome middle-aged scientist. He charms her and they eventually have an affair. The story gets juicy when Simon meets Adam and has an affair with him. Neither Simon nor Hannah know that the other is cheating on them, especially with the same man! It’s not a romantic story, nor is it a funny one.

As you may have guessed by my description of the film… it all seems too coincidental. I mean, this must be a really small world if they both separately have an affair with the same man. Although it’s possible for this situation to arise, I can’t help but find the story unbelievable. The film was missing something, something which should have made my scepticism go away. Even though it all seemed so fictitious, I still found 3 to be somewhat unpredictable and enjoyable.

The theme seemed to be the background music to the song Teardrop by Massive Attack. I suspect that they even used scenes from that song’s film clip to display pregnancy. My favourite part of the film was when they played David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity.’ That’s one of my favourite songs of all time, so that was a big plus for me. However, the fact that a song is my favourite aspect says many things about this movie.

There was a long and dull period where I couldn’t keep interest in the film. I think it went for about 25 minutes. That, along with a lack of chemistry among actors, made this film lose major points. BUT, they managed to turn a run-of-the-mill story into something different and interesting for the most part. I thought the ending was spectacular; I don’t think I’ll ever forget that image.

With good performances, an intriguing story, and solid film-making for the most part, Three is an entertaining film. I can't say that I'd ever watch it again, simply because of that dull 25 minute period. It contains quite a bit of nudity, but I think they used that effectively. I can't bring myself to dislike this film, I just enjoyed it too much. It's not to everyone's taste, but I'd recommend it to those who love a good love triangle or a saucy drama.