Perfect Strangers

A hit-man 's crime took place under a toddler's eyes.The boy cannot speak yet ,but as his mother unwisely says,he's very clever,very observant and when he starts speaking,he will have a lot to tell us about.So the murderer seduces the mother in order to get rid of the witness.The only interesting scenes are the ones which involve the man and the child.And even with them,the movie never really takes off.The writers drag things out with their photographs trick which exhausts any suspense.The adults are not very convincing,and Johnny's behavior does not make any sense.The mother is a bubblehead -how long it takes her to find out what lies beneath!-,and the actress does not even succeed in making us believe she loves her son dearly.

This low-budget crime drama deserves a second look (unfortunately it is currently unavailable in video). It is a good example of modern film noir, with its gritty realism, excellent New York location photography, and moody score.

The story involves, Johnny, a hitman (played by Brad Rijn), whose contract hit on a gangland rival is witnessed by a three year old boy, playing in his backyard. Johnny's initial motivation to "eliminate" the one witness to the crime (under orders of his mob boss) becomes conflicted by his growing romantic involvement with the boy's mother, Sally, (played by Anne Carlisle). Occasional semicomic relief is provided by the incomparable Ann Magnuson, in the role of a male-hating ultra-feminist and best friend of Sally.

The story is by no means perfect and the ending somewhat disappointing. But its appeal lies in its offbeat look and quirky directing and acting. This is a film with definite cult potential.

Apparently, this and Special Effects were shot back to back in 1983/84 as part of a package low-budget deal with Hemdale Films, and Cohen looked at Blind Alley as the "less complicated" one of the two (and hey, what says in-complicated like trying to direct a baby, right? By his account the baby Matthew did what he was told for the most part with help from his parents, and to Cohen's credit he's a great Baby Actor if that's a term I can throw, oh hey it's my review so I just did). The general impression on the whole from this one - which I like just slightly more than Special Effects) - is that it feels like Cohen in both the script and execution is making this like a Poverty Row director might in the 1940s, only updated for gratuitous nudity and occasionallu more brutal violence.

This is both to the benefit and detriment in the final product. I get that the film is about this baby who sees a killing, and even matches eyes with Johnny the killer (the actor Brad Rijn carries a certain intensity that works overall, a highlight being when he explains in his way of "comparative analysis" to Matthew via magazine how his predicament is not unlike... Elliot in ET, and it makes me smile to think of Larry Cohen watching ET like everyone else in the world, but I digress), and that Johnny is so pathological about pleasing his underworld boss that he'll stop at nothing to make sure the baby doesn't uh squeal or rattle or what have you, but... He's a baby. Cute one, but still not quite exactly able to pick a guy out of a line-up.

And the extent to which he ends up going to to shut a tyke up who can't even form words past Mom and No is kind of ridiculous. Moreover, Johnny is a pretty stupid and (connected with the Cohen ouvrere) violent and crazy, but by a certain point it's also the mom's fault for not seeing his other motives (Anne Carlisle, who actually does quite well with what she's given, most of all that intense real-crowd filmed set piece in the Soho streets with mom's baby daddy).

On the other hand, I like that only a story with such a nutty premise and execution, including a cast of supporting women friends of the Mom who make this a semi-sorta commentary on Feminist action against scumbag men (which in Cohen's world is almost a redundant statement) could come from such a mind and cinematic personality as his. It doesn't all work and sometimes drags, like with a police detective working the murder case who gets saddled with some clunky lines that only leads to a predictable (if dark) point, but Cohen, when he and his DP aren't using that high contrast or glaze or whatever it is on the lens to make exterior day scenes too bright, has some captivating compositions, like that other murder in the building set in silhouette against the downtown Manhattan skyline, or that wild shot where we see the kidnapping as the baby is on the carousel attached to a truck(!)

And how this ends ultimately is satisfying, even if it takes some time to get there. It's probably minor Cohen, but if you're like me and working your way through his body of work, it has its moments and eccentric and funny and hard-edged dialog to get you through.

Some nice shots and a few moments of suspense still don't help Perfect Strangers from dragging a bit too much. It's one of Larry Cohen's more down to earth films without monster babies or blob-like yogurt, but not a lot of the script makes sense and it ends with more of a thud than a bang.

After a Mafia hit man kills his target in a back alley, he looks up to notice a toddler has seen what he has done. When the mother comes out and notices the body, she goes about things as if her son didn't see anything. Under pressure by the Mafia to do something about it, he befriends the mother of the child to see how much the kid can put together of what he saw. The pressure starts to build as the Mafia is constantly on his back to rid the kid, while the boy's estrange father is trying his best to get back into the child and mother's life and the police are getting suspicious.

Style and mood features strongly in director/writer Larry Cohen's understated low-budget noir-like thriller. It's an atmospheric nail-biter in the old tradition of showing little in the way of explosive currents, but rather developing on the tight and emotionally realistic situation captured in the authentically haunting and forcible New York locations. Cohen's serviceable direction clearly cooks up an eerie presence from its shadowy urban backdrop that works favourably with Dwight Dixon's lingering smoky jazz cues throughout the stirring score and Paul Glickman's prominently moody cinematography complements it all nicely. The editing is swiftly concise. Even with its cheap origins, it has a solid professional ambiance that goes onto make it one highly effective presentation. Cohen's cynically terse script swoops right into the social commentary, as on today's menu is a feminist stance, children caught between feuding parents and the exploitation of their naïve innocence. There are few offbeat touches, but for most part the premise is played straight, as it did lack the sharp-laced wit we've come to expect. This dry touch only heightened the taut nature, which leads to a potent conclusion. Sometimes holes can show up and at times the pacing can succumb to stodgy handling, but these moments are a minor fracture to the overall feel. Anne Carlisle's soothing performance is that of elegance, but also burning conviction as the mother. In a disquieting and subtle turn, Brad Rijn perfectly portrays his laconic character with a lurking menace that might drop his guard. Mathew Stockley as the child definitely passes the muster. In short, but extremely quirky parts are Ann Magnuson (as a feminist man hater) and Stephen Lack (stuck up police Lieutenant).

Re-watching this interesting and sorely overlooked Cohen entry, goes on to prove what a versatile filmmaker he is.