The Comfort of Strangers

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Es-Jay J This is a truly toxic film. Yes, it will draw you in but it will also sicken your soul in the process. Even Christopher Walken is on record as saying he couldn't wait for the shoot to be over. The film seems to be in love with its own slick darkness and violent perversity. It hopes to fool you into thinking that its relentless, gratuitous psychological indulgence is actually some form of human insight. But there are no emotional revelations, just a parade of slick surfaces and carefully choreographed cruelty. I am a big Harold Pinter fan; and I have been watching films for seven decades, but this is one of the very few that made me feel as though I had shamed myself for watching it. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/25/25 Full Review Jo B I think I got what the "strangers" who befriend the young couple wanted, something they themselves were happy to take out of the world to fit their twisted needs. I chose to make this "worth a watch" because it was to me. But I agree that it doesn't succeed despite so much great talent and the ever visual interest of Venice. I don't know how much of the failure here is from the source material (the book had equally mixed reviews) or the direction -- the failure here is really in a great build up (3.5) that was not given the proper climax (loss of 1.5). Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/25 Full Review S.J. K The top ten reasons to watch this film: 1. The lush, seductive score by Angelo Badalamenti. 2. The script by Harold Pinter, based on the book by Ian McEwan. 3. Director Paul Schrader, who's never afraid to go too far and offend audiences. 4. The always hypnotic Helen Mirren, here as mysterious and sexy as ever. 5. The maddeningly inscrutable Christopher Walken. 6. A heartbreaking performance by the late and luminous Natasha Richardson. 7. A surprisingly naive and innocent Rupert Everett. 8. Lots of naked eye candy, both male and female. 9. Gorgeous sets, with many lovely shots of Venice, complemented by Giorgio Armani clothes. 10. A riveting plot twist you won’t see coming. Most viewers will scratch their heads, asking "What is happening? Where is this going?" Which is exactly why this film is so compelling. But by the time you finally understand what’s happening, it's too late. There's no backing out. You've just lost your virginity. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/25 Full Review Neil F A film that never adds up to the sum of its parts. Excellent actors. Natasha Richardson is especially watchable. Excellent director. Good source material. But somehow it never jells. And is often tedious. The real star of the show, IMO, is the Venice apartment that the Christopher Walken character and his wife, Helen Mirren, live in. Wow! Forget the narrative and skip ahead to the scenes that take place in the apartment. Never has a set so upstaged its characters! Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/27/24 Full Review Mary C Terrible film, acting, and boring. Great actors but not in this film… terrible. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/06/24 Full Review Alec B Walken is perfectly cast here but I mostly liked watching this for the odd melding of McEwan's source material, Pinter's screenplay adaptation, and Schrader's direction. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Comfort of Strangers

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