The Business of Strangers

Poignant tale of two eager women; one has passed her prime and bears the scares of the still male dominated business world of the early new millennium is aggressively portrayed to a 'T' (as in Tenacious) by Stockard Channing who is chillingly ruthless from frame to frame. The other younger, equally crafty, as well as wickedly sly woman is played by Julia Stiles who no doubt is cast by design to steal the glances of the male audience as well as opposite genders in this story of destructive payback.

Stiles' character is manipulatively calculating as she subtly unfolds a selfish plan to map a path to own success yet who's comeuppance could inevitably be in her near future at the hands of her adversary's lofty rank… or possibly visa-versa given that both become disillusioned by the cardinal sins of greed, envy and last but certainly not least, lust. Gets off the track a bit with the man-humiliation angle which may have went a bit to far but both Channing is stellar and Stiles is something to be reckoned with in this picture in more ways than one as both should be duly commended for their outstanding performances. Comparisons to Neil LaBute's powerful 1997 'In the Company of Men' are inevitable but still stands well on its own.

In "The Business of Strangers", Stockard Channing plays Julie Styron, a self-made business woman approaching middle age who is paired up with young tech assistant Paula Murphy (played by Julia Stiles) on a business trip. When Paula arrives late to a meeting due to a delayed flight, a distressed Julie has her fired on the spot. Later, after being promoted CEO of the company, Julie runs into Paula sitting alone in a bar, apologizes for her rash behavior and the two set out on a night of female bonding, power trips, revenge, mind games, and button pushing.

This verbal film spends a considerable time exploring the stark contrasts between the two women. Paula is a hostile young woman who writes non-fiction about her life experiences, sports tattoos, experiments with bisexuality and self-mutilation, and has a fondness for hardcore pornography. Julie is career-driven to the point of isolation and is much softer and less confrontational than Paula. It is exactly through these contrasts that we see a complementary relationship emerge between these two characters. While Paula's brash confidence exposes Julie's insecurity and anxiety, Julie's worldliness and experience make Paula seem impetuous. As a result, a dynamic interplay and synergy come out from these exchanges.

When a male associate of Julie's enters the plot, Paula ups the ante by revealing to Julie that he committed a rape at a frat party she attended in Boston years ago. From this point on, "The Business of Strangers" turns into a story of revenge and maintains a misanthropic and satirical tone. It is this tone that makes "The Business of Strangers" so much like Neil Labute's indie hit, "In the Company of Men", in the way that it explores power trips, mind games, one-upmanship, and competition. In this film, a woman's struggle within a male-dominated corporate world is also an theme that is covered.

"The Business of Strangers" is not exactly an impressive film stylistically, but it more than makes up for this in its delicious dialogue which works two ways. It always keep the suspense going by teasing and daring the audience to guess what will happen next, only to foil any attempt to do so. Another thing the dialogue does is establish the characters' personalities by shedding light on their life histories and motives. Channing and Stiles fill both their roles to perfection and play off each other extremely well. Channing is up to task with her most interesting role since "Six Degrees of Separation" nearly ten years ago. Every look and gesture serves to imply the world-weariness and jaded vulnerability that Julie inhabits. Stiles, is no less impressive as the more provocative of the two women. Apart from seeing a few random scenes from "10 Things I Hate About You", I have never seen her act before, but her dynamic performance here has me intrigued. Both Channing and Stiles are deserving of Oscar nominations, but will most likely be overlooked since "The Business of Strangers" is a low budget indie film. While the 85-minute running time is slight, this movie will keep you engaged in thought as well as entertained.

Paula hates men, and has learned to use her sexual attractiveness as a weapon against them. It's made obvious the way she likes to taunt them in the elevator, the dance floor. Making out in the hallway just enough to get him turned on, then kick him away. Throwing their lame smalltalk back in their face. (At the end of the movie I asked my SO why she "did it" and the answer was "because she can." I got it right.)

Paula is a constant, but what about Julie? Together but brittle, Paula boils things to the surface of Julie that otherwise would not have come to light without sufficient heat. This movie keeps you watching, and you can't help but question whether the characters and fallen "out of character" or not. But that's the whole point.

You keep watching because you want to see where it goes. Over the edge, or reel back to safety?

Actors aside, the background is perfect, as anyone who has spent any amount of time on business trips knows.

Eight stars.

This could have been a very interesting film. Stockard Channing turns in her usual phenomenal performance, but even her formidable skills can't save this one. It begins as a fascinating character study of a woman at the top (Channing) with very little to show for it, and had it remained Channing's story, it might have worked. However, the very forced introduction of a vaguely threatening younger woman takes the script into an plot filled with implausible choices and sometimes laughable dialogue - at the very moments when it should be most dramatic. This film could have seethed with undercurrents and subtle sexual tension. Instead, we're hit over the head repeatedly with "tension" so overt it renders any chemistry between the two actresses absolutely lifeless. Too bad - this film could've had a good thing going.

Call it an art film. Call it low-budget. Call it limited-release. But it's a lot more entertaining and intelligent than 95 percent of what Hollywood produces these days. (I know this was filmed primarily in New Jersey, but you know where I'm coming from.)

The psychological and physical tension between the two leading characters (Channing and Stiles) really makes this film. There's a lot to think about here, including the price to be paid for corporate success and how trust often ends up being the world's most valuable commodity.

Anyone who's ever reached the top of the corporate ladder and then found themselves to tired to enjoy it will appreciate Channing's performance. She's a perfect fit for this role, strong and confident on one hand but insecure and a tad lonely on the other.

It seems strange to say it, but I really liked something about how the culture of business travel was illustrated in the movie -- hotel bars, shuttle buses, cell phones, neatly-organized suitcases, lounges, alarm clocks. Maybe these characters simply have more impact in such an artificial environment.

A solid 8 1/2 out of 10.