Bem-vinda, estranha

Alice (Abbey Lee Kershaw) arrives unannounced at her estranged brother Ethan (Caleb Landry Jones)'s mansion. He reluctantly allows her to stay overnight. The siblings have a mysterious mommy issue with their late mother. Ethan's girlfriend Misty (Riley Keough) arrives.

"Hey, stop acting weird.", Ethan tells Alice in front of Misty. That's what I want to say to this movie. Writer/director Justin Kelly is trying really hard to be arthouse worthy with close-ups, mumblecore, a portal to nowhere, and a strange psychosexual mystery. It's trying too hard and being too weird. Abbey Lee has the haunted emaciated look of a supermodel. Caleb looks like a creepy serial killer. They're acting strange for the sake of the movie. It's play acting. It could still be saved by an amazing ending to wrap it up. Instead, it does the amateur move and does it without the kinetic energy to drive it home. This is a slow, long tease to a hollow ending and doesn't explain some of the more weird elements.

I do like a lot of strange films but his is just the worst. Far too pretentious and deep without even trying to explain itself.

A good waste of 90 minutes.

Maybe an epilogue to explain it would help as the film doesnt.

I feel as if those who are rating this movie poorly are failing to see the sophistaction, artfulness and unique story Justin Kelly has brought to us. Just because you don't understand something entirely, or a film doesn't leave you with that "happy ending" feeling, doesn't make it bad. This film is extremely fresh and innovative - it kept me happily on my toes until it's very last moments. Despite it leaving me with a few unanswered questions, I was more than pleased with this film's conclusion. Art here certainly imitates life, and life is full of unanswered questions. Why should a film be any different? I found myself wondering, "What does that symbolize?" or "Was that real or just a daydream?". Most things in life don't leave you with a solid answer. With that being said, those bothered by this film must dislike leaving things to the imagination; failing to create an interpretation of their own. Regardless, the acting was undoubtedly remarkable - Abbey Lee truly shined and stole the show. The storyline was creative and refreshing; the cinematography... pure eye candy. Highly recommend for any filmophile - find solace in the unanswered questions.

Welcome the Stranger does not have mass commercial appeal. It's a very loose, uncomfortable film that, depending on how you understand the resolution, can be open to a WIDE range of interpretations. Only the very last scene is presented as something beyond superficial question. Everything else is ultimately to be analyzed in relation to this last scene. Most viewers don't want to analyze, which is fine, but their not liking this movie is not equivalent to its being pretentious.

This film is a very interesting feature that psychologically ascends reaching many levels. A mystery thriller with very mild hints of disturbing scenarios preparing to unfold. The storyline moves at a slow pace but always remains intriguing and entertaining through out. It also pushes the boundaries a bit but not quite enough to really set this film apart to stand out from others and become memorable.

Now the obstacle with storylines that try to be unique and edgy with a psychological twist boils down to one factor, If they do not know where they are going or if they have no idea how to explain the events that unfolded on film most movies like this one will just quit and run the credits as if it's the viewers fault for not hypothesizing a good ending or leaving it to ones own interpretation to figure it out. Ultimately at the end you'll feel as though you've wasted your time and now your more angry than the chrachters you just watched on screen. Was this scene a dream she had or did this really happen, Was he hallucinating etc.etc. We watch intriguing movies to experience someones story not imagine our own explanation.

This film was a very interesting ride until you realize at the end it's just a hampster wheel going nowhere. I advise you to skip this film it isn't worth the time but if you have a couple hours to waste you should enjoy it.