The only thing perfect about Perfect Stranger is Halle Berry’s hair. No matter what situation she finds herself in, Berry always looks great. Bruce Willis, meanwhile, wears a strange hairpiece that appears to be in dire need of a date with a comb. The biggest problem with Perfect Stranger in addition to the generic title, is that the film ends up being less interesting than it should be.
Berry plays an investigative reporter who poses as a temp to get the goods on suspected murderer Bruce Willis. The plot, even when explained at the end, doesn’t make complete sense. The beginning of the film wasn’t just ripped from the headlines, it was hardly re-written – a scene designed to show of Berry as a crusading journalist who is always on the right side of the issues. That scene plays like an episode of “Law and Order: SVU”. Once the mystery starts, Perfect Stranger goes downhill, titillating the audience with lurid details about the characters, and then scolding the characters for not being total straight-arrows. As has been demonstrated in previous films, shots of hands on keyboards and online conversations does not make for compelling drama.
I have to wonder if director James Foley was overwhelmed with what is essentially a showcase for two big stars in a big-budget film. Foley’s best films have been on a smaller scale, and even if one gives most of the credit of Glengarry Glen Ross to author David Mamet, Foley still has Reckless, After Dark, My Sweet and Confidence among his credits. The images of the inside of eyes, and the recurrent theme of people watching other people or uncovering personal secrets made me think of Fritz Lang. The classic filmmaker frequently covered similar material throughout his career in films like Beyond a Reasonable Doubt and the “Dr. Mabuse” series. Unfortunately, Perfect Stranger is too big and glossy to be the tight, nasty thriller it should have been.
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