Perfect Strangers (2003)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Gaylene Preston

Writer:

Gaylene Preston (written by)

Release Date:

9 October 2003 (Australia)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Plot:

A woman goes home with the best-looking stranger, only to discover she's been kidnapped.

Plot Keywords:

Stranger | Island | Psycho Thriller | Claustrophobia | Stalking

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Rachael Blake	...	Melanie
Robyn Malcolm	...	Aileen
Madeleine Sami	...	Andrea
Jed Brophy	...	Pete
Joel Tobeck	...	Bill
Paul Glover	...	Jim
Sam Neill	...	The Man
George Cassells	...	Takeaway Patron
Louis Cassells	...	Takeaway Patron
Nic Farra	...	Takeaway Patron
Nic Gorman	...	Takeaway Patron
Lorraine Ryder	...	Publican
Ian Ryder	...	Publican
Richard Bullock	...	Bushman
Paul O'Shea	...	Bushman

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexual content and brief language.

Runtime:

Australia:96 min

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand

Company:

Gaylene Preston Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, as Melanie is eating, there is a shot where she has a big piece of egg on her fork. In the next shot, it's a small piece of meat, and she is holding the fork differently.

"You're not the girl you think you are"

...sings Neil Finn in a catchy Crowded House song that plays at several points in the film. Could have been written especially for the film, and maybe it was, it's so apt.

What a wonderful and surprising ride this movie was. Starts with a plot that's like standard Hollywood thriller fair, but then... wow.

Rachel Blake is amazing to watch in a brave performance of an unusual character-journey, to say the least. It's also a tribute to the mercurial power of Sam Neil that I wasn't once distracted enough to expect a dinosaur to spring from the bushes or a mute Holly Hunter to start playing a piano, despite the familiar image of Sam Niel against lush island locations.

Great photography of such great NZ locations. Great humour, dialogue and direction from Gaylene Preston.

I'd like to see another Gaylene Preston film soon and I'm sorry to see nothing new is listed currently here for her. Buy the DVD - it's a crime it was so cheap!!!