The Business of Strangers (2001)

Touches You

Just perfect...

A Major Disappointment

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

"The Business Of Strangers" is a quiet - and quietly intense - two-and-a-half-character psychological drama, unusually dialogue-heavy and visually elegant for a 2000s film. I was surprised to find out, through IMDb, that writer-director Patrick Stettner has only made one more film since, as he shows both talent and ambition here. This is a movie that commands your attention not with action but with words, looks, gestures. And it also features two performances by Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles that probably rank among the highest accomplishments of their careers. However, the ending is underwhelming, as it arrives at a plot revelation that most viewers will have already suspected. **1/2 out of 4.

For a film that is focused on character performances, this is excellent. I have worked around many 40-something silicon valley female executives and Stockard Channing nails the part to the point of an Academy-Award level performance. I *hated* Julia Stiles character, which is what the director intended, I believe, so she did well too. It is an interesting study of people, not a perfect movie by any means, but if I were the director, or an actor, I'd be proud.Seeing Stockard Channing's icy response to her promotion to CEO - while expecting she'd get fired, was so perfect for the up and down positions in high-tech companies. Remember this was made during the dot-bomb market. Her playful time at the gym and pool (and the elevator discussion about the *black* dildo) with Julie Stiles was so typical of women (or men) trying to bridge the generational gap.

"The Business of Strangers" is a stylish piece of work, but it's a bit fraudulent. The story, to me, anyway, is completely implausible. I just didn't believe a woman with the controlled personality of a CEO could be so easily drawn in to such a dumb prank. And once I found myself disbelieving that, I didn't buy anything else that happened in the film. The film also glosses over the implications of what Julia Stiles' character does - the guy could easily have died from the drug overdose. I suppose some people will interpret the ending as Stiles' character, the cold, manipulative bitch, beating the CEO at her own game, but I didn't see that at all. She just struck me as a man-hater, a lonely, lost little girl.This movie is also far from original. It contains too many elements from better movies I've seen before, notably "In The Company Of Men". Even the best lines of dialogue in the movie are an utter cliché, when Stiles and Stockard Channing are swapping "Ok, you told me what I am, now I'm going to tell you what you are" barbs. The performances are all great; it's just the material that's lacking. "The Business of Strangers" is not terrible, but it's weak, and it trivializes not only the plight of women in the corporate workplace, but rape victims as well.

Julie Styron (Stockard Channing) suspects she may be getting fired and hires headhunter Nick Harris (Fred Weller). She fires new assistant Paula Murphy (Julia Stiles). She is surprised when she is promoted to CEO. They later run into each other at a bar. They are joined by Nick when Paula reveals a shocking story to Julie.You should be able to see the ending coming a mile away. You know exactly the big reveal as soon as the "story" unfolds. It could've been interesting if something REAL edgy happens, but they might as well have a sing-along for the climax. Stockard Channing plays a smart, hard-nose executive, but couldn't ask the right questions to the guy? She's smart enough to run a multi-million dollar company, but so stupid she buys into the story. It's too bad. It has a good premise.