The Stranger
by Paulette Reynolds * May 1, 2020
by Paulette Reynolds * May 1, 2020
Netflix
2020
Director: Daniel O’Hara, Hanna Quinn
Screenplay: Danny Brocklehurst, Mick Ford, Karla Crome, Charlotte Coben
Starring Siobhan Finneran/DS Johanna Griffin, Richard Armitge/Adam Price, Dervia Kirwan/Corinne Price, Jennifer Saunders/Heidi, Hannah John-Kame/The Stranger, Stephen Rea/Martin Killane, Shaun Dooley/Doug Tripp, Paul Kaye/Patrick Katz, Kadiff Kirwan/DC Wesley Ross, Brandon Fellows/Mike, Jacob Dudman/Thomas, Ella-Rae Smith/Daisy, Anthony Head/Edgar Price, Lily Loveless/Ingrid, Kai Alexander/Dante, Humera Syed/Olivia, Callie Cooke/Kimberley, Kim Vithana/Leila Katz
2020
Director: Daniel O’Hara, Hanna Quinn
Screenplay: Danny Brocklehurst, Mick Ford, Karla Crome, Charlotte Coben
Starring Siobhan Finneran/DS Johanna Griffin, Richard Armitge/Adam Price, Dervia Kirwan/Corinne Price, Jennifer Saunders/Heidi, Hannah John-Kame/The Stranger, Stephen Rea/Martin Killane, Shaun Dooley/Doug Tripp, Paul Kaye/Patrick Katz, Kadiff Kirwan/DC Wesley Ross, Brandon Fellows/Mike, Jacob Dudman/Thomas, Ella-Rae Smith/Daisy, Anthony Head/Edgar Price, Lily Loveless/Ingrid, Kai Alexander/Dante, Humera Syed/Olivia, Callie Cooke/Kimberley, Kim Vithana/Leila Katz
Imagine that your world is humming a happy tune - a great marriage or a successful business - and one day its contentment is shattered by a grinning blackmailer. Incriminating photos, unsavory videos and a resume of your secret life is casually dropped into your lap - together with a deadline. What would you do?
Netflix's latest detective tale, The Stranger, poses this scenario for three people, and the ripple effect it has on their family, friends, colleagues and neighbors. Add a circle of misbehaving teens, a mutilated animal, fake pregnancies, a dirty cop and those deadlines (remember?) - and you have eight episodes to get you through yet another few days of this pandemic.
The Stranger shifts between lawyer Adam Price searching for his wife, Corinne, who goes missing after he confronts her with his envelope of bad news and Johanne, a senior detective working on a case involving an unconscious teen and a butchered Alpaca Llama.
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Are they connected? You bet, but the circle widens to include Johanne's best friend, Heidi, the owner of a popular bakery, who is found murdered shortly after receiving her threatening envelope with an expensive price tag concerning her daughter, Kimberley.
The mystery quickly spins out of control for Adam's client Martin, his father Edgar, and his neighbor Doug, while Johanne tries to cope with Katz, her slacker colleague, Heidi's evasive daughter and a clique of desperate teenagers.
Did I mention that "the stranger" has a few secrets of her own?
Did I mention that "the stranger" has a few secrets of her own?
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The Stranger, adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel, ramps up the suspense - sometimes at the expense of common sense, but it's the subtext messaging that leaves a sour taste in this reviewer's mouth. The standard white male narrative that runs through this otherwise fine thriller attempts to prop up rigid societal expectations - where the men "must" protect their their families at all costs - even if it leads to murder.
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To add insult to injury, all nine female characters meet an unsatisfactory ending (either through death, mental or emotional problems), while a handful of men - Adam, Edgar, Johanne's husband - see a rainbow at the end of their story.
There’s a lot to like with The Stranger, and as a mystery it's great - until the unforgivable error of not revealing who took the blame for that dangling corpse. It looks like a coy way to set up a second season... Really?
There’s a lot to like with The Stranger, and as a mystery it's great - until the unforgivable error of not revealing who took the blame for that dangling corpse. It looks like a coy way to set up a second season... Really?
COPYRIGHT 2012/2020. Paulette Reynolds. All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds. All intellectual and creative rights reserved.
