I think the relentless attacks on this movie particularly by critics are just totally unfair. Reviews are running about 10-1 against it in some major publications. It is frequently referred to as "conventional" or clichéd. In the first place, they criticize it for pandering to public interest because it is partially about computer sex, and also about a congressman who has illicit affairs with boys, and an investigative reporter who tries to find the lowdown on a powerful ad executive who is cheating on his wife. The Congressman/boy scandal actually happened last year in Washington,D.C. In many movies nowadays computers and cell phones play a role ("The Departed" for example) and at least two recent highly-praised movies ("Me And You and Everyone We Know" and "Hard Candy") are specifically about computer sex. Sex always sells (there are numerous sexual references as well in "Blades Of Glory", but this is just Will Ferrell showing his Saturday Night Live! background, it is funny, and to a large extent "Blades" rises above this) and to criticize "Perfect Stranger" for being sleazy for this reason is hardly fair. Then they criticize the acting performances. I think Halle Berry should be allowed to do her thing. With this movie, she should become an even bigger box office draw.
The movie's fast pace really impressed me. It was somewhat like "The Departed" in this respect, and "The Departed" won an Oscar for editing. You have to stay on your toes to understand what is happening. I thought the detail about Harrison Hill's wife's connection with belladonna was interesting, and it is historically accurate that serial killers have used atropine for years to kill people. I thought Giovanni Ribisi's character as a sleazy computer geek who has his secret lust for Rowena was well-done. There being all types of abnormal psychology, from multiple personality to neurotic, this one seems somewhat middling, perhaps above average, on a scale of 1-10. and the movie has many interesting minor characters, like Rowena's mother, who in the end plays a significant role. I enjoyed the arrest, trial and conviction of Hill--but things are not as they appear to be. Certainly not a movie for rubes or farmers or children, I think this is a sophisticated New York thriller worth the $6 price of admission, though not perfect. I also enjoyed both "Premonition" and "The Reaping" which movies were likewise trashed by critics for the same reasons.
The movie's fast pace really impressed me. It was somewhat like "The Departed" in this respect, and "The Departed" won an Oscar for editing. You have to stay on your toes to understand what is happening. I thought the detail about Harrison Hill's wife's connection with belladonna was interesting, and it is historically accurate that serial killers have used atropine for years to kill people. I thought Giovanni Ribisi's character as a sleazy computer geek who has his secret lust for Rowena was well-done. There being all types of abnormal psychology, from multiple personality to neurotic, this one seems somewhat middling, perhaps above average, on a scale of 1-10. and the movie has many interesting minor characters, like Rowena's mother, who in the end plays a significant role. I enjoyed the arrest, trial and conviction of Hill--but things are not as they appear to be. Certainly not a movie for rubes or farmers or children, I think this is a sophisticated New York thriller worth the $6 price of admission, though not perfect. I also enjoyed both "Premonition" and "The Reaping" which movies were likewise trashed by critics for the same reasons.