What do you have when you copy the opening titles from "The Ice Storm", the background music from "American Beauty", and various plot elements from "Bound", "Swimming With Sharks", "Tape", "In the Company of Men", and "Glengarry Glen Ross"? You have "The Business of Strangers", a film completely devoid of original ideas from writer/director Patrick Stettner. If you've never seen the former films, you may be impressed by this ridiculous potboiler. If you've never seen the former films, you should, because they are all expert, original visions from top-level filmmakers. As Stettner pulls out each cliche from his grab bag, all you can do is roll your eyes - even a hackneyed shot like "office windows looking like prison bars" is given full commitment, as if it hadn't been seen dozens of times since the '60s. Perhaps Stettner has talent. Hopefully next time he'll write about something from within himself, and be a true artist. And maybe not.
Review of The Business of Strangers
