The Business of Strangers
Directed by Patrick Stettner.
Starring Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles.
When I came out of this movie all the other reviewers were discussing the film. Half of them loved it and the other half were indifferent. Director Patrick Stettner’s first feature film, The Business of Strangers is a tight drama with a little sprinkling of black humour thrown in, set in the anonymous atmosphere of an airport hotel. Power is the main theme, whether it is manifested through gender, economics, class, youth or sex. Julie Styron, beautifully portrayed by Stockard Channing, is a strong and successful businesswoman who has given her life to become Vice President of a large company in a male dominated world. But she is still full of insecurity and when her boss calls her to an unexpected meeting during one of her constant business trips she fears the worst and takes her anger out on her latest assistant (Paula Murphy) played by the engaging Julia Stiles.
Later that day the two women are trapped by circumstance and meet up in the airport hotel. The power plays begin. They flirt, drink, lie, and reveal their inner flaws, using an unsuspecting businessman (Frederick Weller) as a pawn in their psychological game. Stockard Channing is perfectly cast as Julie, continually aware of her power and how fragile it could be. Julia Stiles convincingly swings from victim to aggressor throughout her portrayal of Paula as she manipulates everyone around her. Frederick Weller as the businessman generates a genuinely repulsive character that you can’t help feeling sorry for by the end. There is not much more to say about this film. It’s good, it’s tight, beautifully filmed but ultimately left me unconvinced.
Allan
