"Joy Fieding's The Other Woman" was an especially well-crafted made-for-television film. At first glance, this appeared to be a standard film about a femme fatale (Nicole), who is trying to break up the happy marriage of a famous defense attorney (Derek) and his wife (Jill), a former investigative journalist. But by the midpoint, the film turns into an interesting whodunnit with good suspense and character development.
The narrative is presented primarily from the perspective of Jill. At the outset, she trusts her husband, knowing that his intern intends to replace her in his life. But there is another plot strand about Derek's boss Stan, the head of the law firm, that slowly supersedes the femme fatale narrative.
We can see glimpses of Stan as sleazy when he accepts sexual favors from Nicole, and, in return, she is allowed to work as Derek's intern. But there are deeper family secrets about Stan: he has been a longstanding wife batterer. Even on the minor pretext of losing a card game, Stan will beat is long-suffering spouse Bonnie. Stan was estranged from his son Cole, who eventually became a priest. Was Cole privy to the abuse of his mother while growing up?
The film was especially well cast with an ensemble that seem perfect for each of their roles. Such secondary characters as Bonnie, her daughter Lisa, Derek's daughter Lauren were all well-performed. Jason Priestly provided excellent direction in this fast-paced film.
The dramatic arc of the film revolved around our changing impressions of Derek, a lawyer who practices without scruples and a husband who callously discards his wives for newer models. During his current trial, he refers to the defendant as "my client," as opposed to a person with a name. Derek's daughter Lauren slowly comes to see her father as amoral and a fraud.
The most memorable line in the film was when the battered Bonnie asks Jill, "Are we so different?" This question gives Jill pause, as she and her step-daughter move to take control of their lives in the face of adversity of toxic masculinity.
The narrative is presented primarily from the perspective of Jill. At the outset, she trusts her husband, knowing that his intern intends to replace her in his life. But there is another plot strand about Derek's boss Stan, the head of the law firm, that slowly supersedes the femme fatale narrative.
We can see glimpses of Stan as sleazy when he accepts sexual favors from Nicole, and, in return, she is allowed to work as Derek's intern. But there are deeper family secrets about Stan: he has been a longstanding wife batterer. Even on the minor pretext of losing a card game, Stan will beat is long-suffering spouse Bonnie. Stan was estranged from his son Cole, who eventually became a priest. Was Cole privy to the abuse of his mother while growing up?
The film was especially well cast with an ensemble that seem perfect for each of their roles. Such secondary characters as Bonnie, her daughter Lisa, Derek's daughter Lauren were all well-performed. Jason Priestly provided excellent direction in this fast-paced film.
The dramatic arc of the film revolved around our changing impressions of Derek, a lawyer who practices without scruples and a husband who callously discards his wives for newer models. During his current trial, he refers to the defendant as "my client," as opposed to a person with a name. Derek's daughter Lauren slowly comes to see her father as amoral and a fraud.
The most memorable line in the film was when the battered Bonnie asks Jill, "Are we so different?" This question gives Jill pause, as she and her step-daughter move to take control of their lives in the face of adversity of toxic masculinity.