| Reviewed on 2004-08-24 |
| Rated | R |
| Received |   [3] out of 4 stars |
| Genre | Drama |
| Website | http://www.paramountclassics.com/strangers |
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| This French masterpiece is a real classic. Directed by a veteran of 20 films, Patrice Lecorte, it is very interesting to watch this master at work.
The film follows a tax attorney (Fabrice Luchini) who has a freak encounter with a beautiful woman Anna (Sandrine Bonnaire) when she mistakes him for a therapist. After she pours her heart out about her problems with her husband, he hasn't the heart to tell her she came to the wrong suite. Later, even after he tells her he is not the therapist, she continues to come back.
Patrice has a firm grasp on the characters and appeals to American audiences. This tax attorney breaks me up. William lives and works in the same flat in which he grew up. He inherited his business from his father and one shelf contains a display of his boyhood toys. A complete loner, he lost his girlfriend to a strange guy who operates a health club. Now he has a new interest and continues the visits from Anna. He is very serious, and one of my favorite scenes shows the uptight William dancing wildly in his flat to the Wilson Pickett's tune "In the Midnight Hour." He is quite good.
The entire story is captivating and has some nice touches of humor. One example is the reaction from his older secretary at several of the visits. I loved the director's last film "Man on the Train," and look forward to future undertakings. The film comes to a satisfying ending as William follow his dream, breaks old habits and finds happiness with his new love.
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