Movie Review: Perfect Stranger

By Anne Brodie Apr 13, 2007, 10:44 GMT

The film is about a woman, played by Halle Berry, who goes undercover, online and offline, to investigate a friend\'s murder. Willis will play her main suspect. ...more

Halle Berry is one tough mama in a romantic thriller that’s not bad for an early spring release.

The woman is a beauty, that’s for sure, and she does a credible job as an angry and discontented investigative reporter named Ro.You have to hand it to Berry; she can be bad to the bone and have you in her palm at the same time.

It’s one of those films like ‘The Net’ that features endless shots of the leads typing – based on online romance, sex, anonymous hookups and toxic romantic obsession that could scare folks off Facebook permanently – but as dull as keying and test messaging sound, there is some drama.

Ro navigates a dangerous world of corporate mayhem with her best bud Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), a fellow journalist who can infiltrate anyone’s computer, even that of a thoroughly firewalled advertising CEO.

She’s on the trail of Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis) who jilted her friend Grace and may be dangerous. Grace gives her enough information to sink Hill.

The next day Grace is fished out of the East River, killed by a lethal dose of belladonna.

Ro and Miles hit the ad firm hard to set the bait for Hill.

She targets him in an online romantic sting and he bites even as he sits across from her, the new temporary office hire. She needs to know what he knows about Grace’ murder, but she doesn’t bother to call the police.

She is regularly in physical danger, but she can fend for herself. She learned how, outwitting an abusive stepfather. She’s wily and hard.

Heavy sexual tension blankets the film. Hill’s staff seems to be entirety made up of long legged models with big or weird sexual appetites, his army of trophies.

I want to go on record as saying that the Victoria’s Secret tie-in is really blatant, if anyone cares. Sequences of women in undies, fashion shows and generally lacy nakedness seem to have been inadvertently edited in from another film, with little connection to the narrative.

And Willis looks like a pathetic rich old man with gorgeous chicks hanging off his arm – any relationship to real life? His breezy onscreen humour is entirely absent here. The film could use some comic relief; it’s a bit too earnest.

Director James Foley knows the territory – he made ‘Fear’ with Mark Wahlberg and ‘The Chamber,’ both studies in danger. But let us not forget that he also directed Madonna in ‘Who’s That Girl.’

The film is no slam-dunk but it’s an okay two hours in the theatre. And there’s a nice payoff

Perfect Stranger
35mm thriller
Written by Todd Komarnicki and Jon Bokencamp
Directed by James Foley
Runtime: 106 minutes

Opens April 13th. MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, nudity, some disturbing violent images and language.