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just a reviewer wrote on 02/14/2012:

.....strangely philosophical and sometimes wondrous take on the Lives & Loves of men and women in today's world. BUT, hold on a sec...has'nt the behavior we are being shown likely EVER been so....even in humankind's earliest days, in the dark protectiveness of caves? Well, whether that is the case or not...now and today, a most perceptive Director of Film (Tom Tykwer) is giving us a stripped bare view into the lives of 2 Men and 1 Woman....the "3" who make up this proverbial TRIANGLE. So, you need only sit back...relax...then watch and see: ....Their discovery, first, of love with one another----then, finally, a loving-union of the "3".

I cannot tell you that the Male-Female meet-up (can we call it "illicit") being shown us is any differently played out than in 100s of movie stories which have come before. BUT...on the other hand, and strikingly so, it is in the Male / Male "connection" where you will find the Difference in this film. In a mainstream production such as this, rarely will you ever see shown Physically Realistic (and Tender) lovemaking between 2 men....being presented in such a forthright manner. The word, Hot, does not describe it; though if written as HOT, perhaps it begins to do so. (WORD OF ADVICE: Director Tykwer's use of "split screen" techniques throughout, sometimes showing 4 to 6 activities occuring in one scene / shot, makes some of the "HOT actions" a bit difficult to follow and fully enjoy. Better you watch on video....rather than in the theater.)

As to the movie's performers and their abilites, these "3" actors are highly competent and experienced (extensive film histories)....though, perhaps not being paparazzi-pursued in Germany. What they truly are, however, is BELIEVABLE....bringing you to a point of SUDDENLY realizing their characters' origin: ....Perhaps from Earth's First Garden, and here we are being given a "Hanna"...a "Simon"....and, most especially, "The Enticer". These are our "3".

So..Reader Mine: ....When your self-image is at its lowest...and your need to be desired at its highest, just stop and look around you. HE's out there, close by....waiting, waiting to enfold you in Tenderness and Excitement. Waiting to make the rest of your life its Brightest.

Despite the bits of possibly over-dramatized familial and midlife crises, plus a near semi-castration, this is a work which I will be re-watching on a somewhat regular basis---concentrating on the Male / Male action, of course. (Uh..oh).

This is an awarded 3-STAR review.

PS: For those interested, see the excellent Devid Striesow ("Adam" in this film) in the very good, "gay-tinged" 2004 film production: "BEFORE THE FALL". That is, IF you can find it available as a rental; used DVD copies are going for a high price. Oh, and for something very "different"...but very well done (in a "straight" love story), try Tykwer's 2002 "HEAVEN" (Cate Blanchett). You, likely, will not be sorry.

Amos Lassen wrote on 11/22/2011:

We know about the “seven year itch” but what happens when a husband and a wife fall in love with the same guy? This is what “Three” is all about it and it is great fun. Set in Berlin, Hanna (Sophie Rois) and Sebastian (Simon Schipper) are a married couple in their 40’s and they have been together for some 20 years. They are childless and have had the usual problems that married couples have and find themselves a bit bored with their lives—it happens. Hanna has met a scientist at work and then she runs into him at a movie and an affair between them begins. Simon finds a bit of sexual pleasure at his gym when a guy masturbates him and they start seeing each other. Neither Simon nor Hanna have any idea that they are both seeing the same man but the neither does Adam (David Streisow), the object of both of their affection.

This is a comedy that is sensitive and playful at the same time. But there is something else here—beneath the comedy is a very powerful political message. The fact that a man and a woman, a couple, fall in love with the same man is examinational of the issues of today. Human life has both ethical and biological aspects and there are determinants of the way gender and sexuality are seen and how we define ourselves. There are few boundaries to love left in society today and this film is not afraid to show that. Are we now living in an age that not only allows us but encourages us to view society, love and gender in a way that is open and free or arte these still remnants of Puritanism?

Tom Twyker directs some very fine performances from his cast and this is an excellently constructed film that deals with one of the fundamental questions of life, relationships and sexuality. Sophie and Simon are a couple living a mundane life which centers on their careers. The ennui in their lives changes when each meets Adam who seduces them both, separately. Simon and Sophie married late—actually they did so on their 20th anniversary and while each is involved in an affair with Adam. The film uses a lot of dialogue even though the narrative is somewhat spare and if you have seen other Twyker movies, you know that this is not what he usually does.

Here is Twyker’s attempt to make the affairs of the three acceptable to the larger society and in doing so he has created an excellent and engrossing film. There is some black comedy here which, for me, at least, made the film that much better.