The Business of Strangers
Length: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Studio: IFC Films
Website: http://www.i5films.com/businessofstrangers/synopsis.html
Release Date: 2002-01-17
Cast: Julia Stiles, Fred Walker, Stockard Channing, Jack Hallett, Mary Testa
Director: Patrick Stettner
Screenwriter: Patrick Stettner
Music Score: Alexander Lasarenko
WorkNameSort: The Business of Strangers
Our Rating: 3.50
In “The Business of Strangers,” written and directed by Patrick Weller, Stockard Channing (“The West Wing”) plays a newly minted CEO who’s a mass of contradictions: tough yet vulnerable; savvy and quick-witted, but somehow clueless enough to think she can make a friend out of someone she just fired. It’s an astounding performance, nearly matched by co-star Julia Stiles (“O,” “Ten Things I Hate About You”), playing the sacked assistant who pays lip service to not caring about the firing but seems pissed off. Stuck in a hotel while on layover, the two women form a generation-spanning alliance–goofing off in the pool, talking loudly about strap-ons in a packed elevator, sucking down scotch and canoodling with men in the hotel bar. Things turn ugly, however, when they start stringing along an unctuous corporate headhunter (Frederick Weller). The lack of focus in “The Business of Strangers” makes it somewhat unsatisfying–the flick poses more questions than it answers–but the strong performances make it worth a look.
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2002.