| IFC Films | Release Date: December 7, 2001 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
24
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews
Intriguingly puts two distinct, strong women together as if to pose the question, just what is a strong woman? By the film's end, that question is tough to answer.
Mr. Stettner has a serious subject here -- how the hurts that women suffer at the hands of men can be internalized more deeply than the victims know -- and his film is graced with a stunning performance by Ms. Channing.
Looking back at the film, I don't buy all this, but no matter; Channing is so stormy, so keen to unleash her resentments, that for an hour or so you do believe in Julie. [17 Dec 2001, p.98]
While it could have used a punchier final act that distilled its themes more cogently and conclusively, this intelligently scripted drama about power and its many channels nonetheless delivers thanks to Stettner's stylish visual sense and, most of all, to the smart, commanding performances of leads Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles.
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You know the line about paying to hear a great actor read a phonebook? I'd pay to see Channing just leaf through one.
This is a movie that really has little to offer but performances and ideas. For a while, that's enough.
Isn't much more than ''Baise-Moi'' in business suits as they deconstruct sisterhood with an expense account, but their duets sizzle.
Even though The Business of Strangers loses its nerve in the third act -- you'll wish Stettner had dared to push things further.
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