The Strays

I watched it out of curiosity because my dad left when I was young and never tried to contact me. After I had a son I wondered what would drive a parent to just disappear. Really cold. I would move mountains to see my son. I would move to differant countries just to be near him. Anyway, back on track...I never felt the way these kids did. I just never gave my dad a thought. A lot of complaints have been made about the ending but I could not have thought of a better one. I took two seconds, waited for the movie to resume, then burst out laughing. As comical as it was, it was so ironic that the ending itself deserves 10 stars. Though the movie is slightly predictable, it was worth the watch just to see the ending.

This movie starts off with 35 minutes of pointlessness. A well off housewife stressed out and concerned. That's act 1. I don't want to write spoilers here so I'll just tell you it doesn't get better, it gets worse and worse and worse.

The plot holes are massive. I mean you would have to suspend all reality of society to believe some of the things that occur to set up the "story" or "plot" or whatever this thing is.

The "plot" is allegorical and so basic. Why do films like this even get made? How do scripts like this get financed? Black mail? I don't get it. Even the acting isn't great.

There are other parts where you will just shake your head and ask: Why. That's the main question. This is utter nonsense. Unless you're into watching a plot that moves in ways that confuse you and make you annoyed, I would avoid this movie. Not good. 3/10.

I'll start off by saying that reading through the reviews *before* watching the movie will almost definitely influence your opinion of the movie even while watching it. The movie is by no means a perfect one. But it has good moments, keeps you interested, has a surprise ending (some might not like that). The plot holes are glaring and I can see why people can be mad at that. But they are not something many people who watch with a suspension of belief, will be bothered by. The pacing is quite good, quality is good and acting is good. Storyline itself has its ups and downs like the movie itself.

This was a pretty intriguing movie from a psychological point of view and not at all boring. I at first thought it was going to be similar to "Don't worry Darling", after viewing the trailer. It's not.

At first, you can almost predict the plot but then start to change your mind. But your first instinct is correct. At least mine was. Is it perfect? Absolutely not.

Unfortunately for many of those, life isn't all roses and sunshine, and some people are just horrible human beings. My only qualm was it ended in a cliff hanger, and that's the most infuriating thing when watching a movie.

To sum this up, it's about a selfish woman who wants materalistic things regardless who she hurts. There's obviously much more, so give it a watch. Turn it off if it's not for you.

I clicked on The Strays knowing nothing about it, and i'm glad I did as I think the preconception of it being terribly acted/scripted would have dampened my viewing experience. Yes, there are flaws here but I don't think these are down to the actors abilities, so much as a mismatch of direction, staging and direction. It felt like it didn't know what it wanted to be. Was it a horror? Was it a gritty british itv drama? Was it low budget? High concept? It seemed to travel through all those identities and didn't seem to settle until the crescendo at the end of it being a horror thriller....kind of.

Having now read that the writer wanted to portray Neve as a multi layered character, neither good nor bad, I can make sense of what they were trying to achieve. The actors did the best with what they presented, but unfortunately there was a bizarre mix of surreal and realism that just became confusing. I couldn't help but think 'is this trying to be Get Out lite but got lost on the way?'. Also characters needed fleshing out a little. Details were scant apart from a mention of a stay in a psychiatric unit, children being 'got rid of', and a maybe abusive relationship. There was no explanation as to how Neve had achieved her position, or what her intentions were at key moments.

Saying all this, I'm glad I watched The Strays. It kept me gripped, I was interested in the subject matter, it just failed in a consistent tone or a fully rounded narrative sadly.