L'inconnu

Though overlooked at the time of it's release, "Never Talk to Strangers" is a well-crafted thriller centering on the human dilemma of whether or not to trust others. Rebecca De Mornay stars as Dr Sarah Taylor, a psychologist in an unnamed city who has a difficult personal life. She meets the charming Tony Ramirez (Antonio Banderas) in a supermarket and- despite her many fears- is soon drawn into a passionate relationship with him. Soon after meeting Tony, Sarah acquires a stalker who sends her dead flowers and dismembers her pet cat. The audience is provided with a decent list of possible suspects including Tony, Sarah's missing ex-boyfriend Benny, or possibly her slightly sleazy upstairs neighbor (a surprisingly good Dennis Miller). Other possibilities include her alcoholic father, and associates of serial killer Max Cheski (the wonderful Harry Dean Stanton) on whom she is performing a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.

As the plot unfolds, it appears as if De Mornay's character has nowhere to hide and nobody she can really trust. Various characters appear more or less likely to be guilty of terrorizing her. The film also very deftly portrays Sarah's need for a relationship with Tony even though she is terrified that he is hiding something from her. The acting is top notch and the plot is full of satisfying twists and turns. If you are in the mood for a strong, solid thriller then this ought to be a top choice.

A more or less typical thriller made special by Rebecca De Mornay's awesome performance. She is the executive producer of this picture and must have badly wanted to do this role -- I'm glad she did.

She plays a psychiatrist evaluating whether an accused serial killer is competent to stand trial. It becomes obvious early on that she was drawn to psychiatry because of her own severe emotional problems and difficult past. In the meantime, we are shown troubling relationships with men appearing in her personal life. An upstairs neighbor badly wants her, but she wants only to be friends. Her father shows up out of the blue seeking affection and assistance, but she resists him, and it is obvious that their relationship and her childhood were deeply troubled. A stranger (Banderas) she meets in a store ardently pursues her, and they begin an affair, but she has difficulty trusting him, both because he is something of a suspicious character and because, as she tells him, she has difficulty trusting anybody. Their relationship becomes volatile and angry, tinged with violent overtones. Then there is the issue of her ex-fiancé, who vanished abruptly and without explanation just before the scheduled wedding.

As happens in these kinds of films, she is sent a series of mysterious messages and packages with no return addresses. Then violent things start to occur. Someone is clearly trying to terrorize her, but who? So many suspects -- Banderas? The upstairs neighbor (who is of course jealous of Banderas)? The serial killer, acting through friends outside of prison? Her father? The ex-fiancée? I did not anticipate the answer to this question, revealed of course at the film's end, but it was not an especially unusual conclusion for films of this kind. What made this picture worthwhile was De Mornay's utterly believable portrayal of, let us say, a difficult character, reminiscent of what she did in "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle". She is simply great at this kind of thing, besides being classically gorgeous.

The other acting is fine, but no one stands out. Banderas is always good, but in this one he is mostly eye candy for the ladies. Harry Dean Stanton as the serial killer is suitably menacing and crazed, but this picture is really all De Mornay. I found it a bit slow at times, but the last 20 minutes or so made up for the weak spots. Definitely worth watching.

I like this sort of picture, the kind of mystery in which you can't pick out the murderer until the end of the movie. It's not billed as a mystery, though, but that's what it is. Although primarily a mystery, it spends a lot of time as a romance between the two principals, and then switches gears before the onset of tedium. As a result, there is a considerable dead spot in the middle of the film, which may have influenced some reviewers ratings.

As I mentioned, the ending is quite clever and the picture keeps you guessing, since there are few suspects to choose from and the ending was unexpected. Rebecca De Mornay was good as the heroine and Antonio Banderas was even better as the romantic stranger. Len Cariou plays her father in a wasted role. Banderas is often better than the material and does not seem to take himself seriously, as witnessed by the number of crummy movies he has appeared in.

"Never Talk To Strangers" is an absorbing, if uneven, murder mystery which has been given short shrift by reviewers on the IMDb website. If you rent it, give it a chance. I'll bet you won't guess the secret to the ending.

Yes, the plot devices were, at times, obvious. Yes, there were clear hints to the outcome in the early stages of the film. Yes, some of the acting wasn't great.

But, I didn't think it was that bad, and (forgive my ignorance in psychiatric matters if this is wrong) that implausible either.

I think, in acting terms, it was a general disappointment in the two main star actors who have done much better work than this. But don't be too harsh.

I like mystery / crime movies where you try to figure out what is going on. In Never Talk To Strangers you have constant questions about who could be the stalker of Rebecca De Mornay. There is a constant tension between her and Antonio Banderas, sexual and mysterious, and it's a delight to watch. I thought both actors gave us a perfect performance in this movie. I read that some people thought the ending was so obvious. Well I can categorically tell you they are lying. Not in a million years you see the end coming. I would never have guessed and unless you saw the movie before or you read spoilers you will never guess either. And that's what makes Never Talk To Strangers special. If you like that kind of movies, with twists and turns, then this one is definitely worth a watch.