Overly schmaltzy, melodramatic and theatrical...and quite dull too

Rating: 4/10 (13 March 2016)

Overly schmaltzy, melodramatic and theatrical...and quite dull too.
The story of two couples, Dan and Alice (Jude Law and Natalie Portman) and Anna and Larry (Julia Roberts and Clive Owen). We see how they meet, how their relationships start...and how they end up cheating on each other.
Quite dull. It's really just a story of relationship machinations and manipulations for the sake of machinations and manipulations. There is no point, ultimately (except maybe that relationships are doomed to fail so why bother?, but I might be being a bit cynical there...).
Execution is pretty stiff and stuffy too. Very wordy, and unnaturally so. Far too much melodrama over things not warranting such drama. You can tell this was originally a play...
Quite empty too - superficial, emotionally, and overly schmaltzy
Only two things prevent this from being a total waste of time. One is the humour - there are some great one-liners scattered throughout the movie.
The second is the performance of Natalie Portman. She sparkles in her role and got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her efforts.
Not sure how Clive Owen got his Best Supporting Actor nomination though. His performance largely consists of overacting. He is also the biggest victim of the theatrical script - every line he utters sounds like a speech.