A Stranger Among Us (1992)

Detective Emily Eden is a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret world of unwritten law and unspoken ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writer:

Robert J. Avrech

Stars:

Melanie Griffith, John Pankow, Tracy Pollan

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melanie Griffith	...	Emily Eden
John Pankow	...	Levine
Tracy Pollan	...	Mara
Lee Richardson	...	Rebbe
Mia Sara	...	Leah
Jamey Sheridan	...	Nick
Eric Thal	...	Ariel
David Margulies	...	Lt. Oliver
Burtt Harris	...	Emily's Father
James Gandolfini	...	Tony Baldessari
Chris Latta	...	Chris Baldessari (as Chris Collins)
Jake Weber	...	Yaakov Klausman
Ro'ee Levi	...	Mendel
David Rosenbaum	...	Mr. Klausman
Ruth Vool	...	Mrs. Klausman

Storyline

Detective Emily Eden is a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret world of unwritten law and unspoken power, a world where the only way out is deeper in!

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Plot Keywords:

murder | jewish | undercover | jewish culture | orthodox jew | 

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Taglines:

In a dangerous world of mystery and intrigue, she's going undercover searching for the truth.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Yiddish Hebrew

Release Date:

17 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Close to Eden

Filming Locations:

83rd Precinct, Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$12,282,994 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, ISIS, Mansfield Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the Sabbath meal the assembled group dances to a "niggun" (wordless melody) that is traditional among Lubavitch Chassidim. It is usually sung as a preparation to one of the Rebbe's discourses being repeated from memory, though; not as a slow circle-dance.

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Goofs

The position of Melanie's handbag when she visits her father.

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Quotes

Ariel: I got a hot flash for you. Sex is nice.
Emily Eden: Sex is nice... How would you know?

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Connections

Referenced in Will & Grace: Star-Spangled Banter (2001)

User Reviews

Treyf

I'd say this movie was a showcase of ham, but then, I respect Jews. (And no, I'm not Jewish).

First off, Melanie Griffith as a hard-boiled cop is like casting Prissy from "Gone With The Wind" as Dirty Harry. Her "bad-ass mama justice" remarks come off about as well as they would if they were cooed by Linda Lovelace in the script of a porn movie. Seeing her simper and flirt and do all that coy crap around the young Talmudic scholar also disgusted me. I mean, the woman was assigned to investigate a disappearance in the Hasidic community and she shows up in a mini-skirt and says "s**t" in front of the rebbe within the first five minutes of the interview. Was she nodding off during all those diversity training seminars and community relations lectures at the police academy or what? Even if she was, wouldn't you expect someone who grew up in New York to have at least *some* familiarity with Judaism?

She treats every one of the Hasidim with arrogant condescension, in the type of "rude asshole" role that makes a viewer's teeth ache, yet we're supposed to somehow care whether, by the end of the movie, she's managed to understand and perhaps even respect them somewhat. And most of her "respect" is an outgrowth of her having the hots for Rebbe, Jr. Between insulting both Hasidic spirituality and the ability of a woman to perform as a professional without falling for some guy -- I mean, does our "heroine" do this on EVERY assignment or something? -- this movie is a busy two hours. Too bad it wasn't a better spent two hours for me. Thumbs DOWN.