Plot: What’s it about?
Paula (Julia Stiles) works as an assistant to Julie Styron (Stockard Channing), a no nonsense businesswoman in a software corporation. Styron is infamous for her iron fist, but she never loses her temper on the outside, she simply fires those who makes mistakes and never looks back. When she arrives late at one of Julie’s meetings, Paula discovers that darker side of her boss and finds herself in danger of unemployment. But soon after, the two meet at a hotel and have some drinks, which leads to a bond between the two women. Paula begins to see the real Julie and while the older woman never reveals too much, she does show a softer side and offers some insight into her hardnosed tactics. A young man named Nick Harris (Fred Weller) also happens to be at the hotel and while Julie knows him from work, Paula knows him as the man who raped her friend in college. The women decide to take some revenge on Nick for his actions, but as time passes, the intentions become darker and darker…
While this movie doesn’t have the flash or style of some pictures, it does have some elements many others lack, such as immense talent on both sides of the camera. The Business of Strangers is a low budget suspense movie with terrific writing & direction, as well as great efforts from leads Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles. The pace is slow at times, but never dwells enough to lose flow, instead just enough to open up part of the storyline. The characters are well developed and the writing pulls out some great, highly believable events, which come together to create a solid, enjoyable picture. I do think the movie starts to run out of steam toward the close, but even so, it has such rich characters and terrific performances, I can’t complain too much. If you’re looking for a well written, well directed, and well acted motion picture, then The Business of Strangers is more than recommended.
She has become well known for her work in teen aimed movies, but with her work here, Julia Stiles has proven she can handle adult level material. Stiles is placed across from Stockard Channing in perhaps the finest performance of her career, but even so, she remains focused and more than holds her own. If that doesn’t impress you and reveal just how much potential resides within Stiles, then you’re either dead or just plain ignorant. I think she plays well in light material, especially since she has a good comic sense, but she works to almost perfect ends in this darker film, even getting to show the dark, sharp side of her wit. Other films with Stiles include 10 Things I Hate About You, Wicked, Down to You, State and Main, Save the Last Dance, and O. The cast also includes Stockard Channing (Grease, Isn’t She Great), Fred Weller (Armageddon, Cash Crop), and Mary Testa (Stanley & Iris, Sleepers).
Video: How does it look?
The Business of Strangers is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition also included on this dual layered disc. Even though this was a low budget production, the image here looks very good and aside from print flaws, I found little to complain about with this treatment. The print does show some nicks however, with more debris evident toward the close of the picture. As this was a low budget project, I can overlook the print defects and since they’re never too serious, I think most viewers will do the same. The film has a soft visual appearance, which is intact here thanks to the natural, somewhat muted color scheme and well balanced black levels. A very nice visual presentation of a low budget movie, MGM has offered up some terrific work on this release.
Audio: How does it sound?
A Dolby Digital 5.1 track has been included here, but as this is a dialogue driven picture, don’t expect much in terms of dynamic presence. The surrounds are used to enhance the musical soundtrack and add atmosphere in some scenes, but in most cases, the audio is front channel based and natural in scope. That suits the material however, as this is a realistic and dialogue based picture from start to finish. The dialogue is sharp and always easy to understand, with no volume or clarity issues in the least to report. Not a memorable audio experience, but the material sounds as it should, so I have no serious complaints to make here. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
