The Other Man

The Other Man is a 2008 British-American psychological thriller film directed by Richard Eyre. It stars Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas as competitors for a woman's (Laura Linney) love. Released in 2008, the film was a box office bomb, earning just over $1 million against its $15 million budget. Plot Lisa, from the United States, is a shoe designer, married for 25 years to Peter Ryman, a software CEO from Northern Ireland. They live in Cambridge, and Lisa frequently travels to Milan on business. Peter disapproves of their daughter Abigail's boyfriend, George, and Lisa makes an oblique attempt to discuss her and Peter's monogamy, which he dismisses. After Lisa dies, Abigail gives Peter a note with the message “Lake Como” from inside one of her mother's shoes. Peter discovers a romantic voicemail on Lisa's cell phone and a similar email on her computer from “Ralph,” as well as a password-protected folder named “Love.” Convinced that Lisa was having an affair, Peter wrongly accuses her colleague of the same name of being her lover. He replies to the email, “The Lisa you loved is no longer here,” but Ralph continues to write, believing he is still communicating with Lisa. Peter accesses Lisa's folder with the password “Lake Como,” discovering intimate pictures of her in Milan with another man. He has an employee illegally trace Ralph's IP address, revealing his physical address in Milan. Peter travels to Milan and follows the half-Spanish, half-English cosmopolitan Ralph Cortés, striking up a conversation with him at a chess café. Over several meetings, Ralph – unaware of Peter's true identity – explains his twelve-year-long affair with Lisa. Having fallen in love with her despite knowing she was married, Ralph believes Lisa will soon rekindle their relationship. Concerned about her father, Abigail finds Ralph's messages and calls Ralph on Lisa's phone, confirming the affair. She confronts Peter in Milan, realizing he has become dangerously obsessed. Fixated on revenge, Peter goes to Ralph's apartment and discovers he is not the wealthy man he appears, but an impoverished building superintendent. Preparing to kill Ralph, Peter changes his mind and leaves.