PERFECT STRANGER

Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Columbia Pictures
Grade: B
Directed by: James Foley
Written By: Todd Komarnicki, story by Jon Bokenkamp
Cast: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow, Nicki Aycox, Kathleen Chalfant, Gary
Dourdan.
Screened at: Cantor, NYC, 4/5/07
Opens: April 13, 2007

With Bruce Willis staying largely in the background in a role that, notwithstanding a few outbursts, finds
him surprisingly emotionless, James Foley's "Perfect Stranger" puts the focus squarely on Halle Berry in
what is arguably her strongest portrayal to date. As Rowena, Berry is cast first as a no-nonsense
investigative reporter, presumably concerned not so much for her own advancement as for cleaning up
corruption and lies in government, laying her own high-powered job on the line when her boss refuses to
print a brilliant scoop as the culmination of six months' hard work. In fact, the opening moments of
"Perfect Stranger," adapted from Jon Bokenkamp's intricately plotted story by scripter Todd Komarnicki,
are particularly swift-paced and riveting, with Rowena's gaining entry to a Republican senator's office in
Washington allegedly to do a puff piece while actually exposing him as a fraud and a hypocrite.

Frustrated by the politics of her newspaper, Rowena plunges from national politics into a situation much
closer to home. Her best friend, Grace (Nicki Aycox), has been murdered. Because Grace had been
stalking high-powered executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), owner of New York's largely advertising
agency H2H–and threatening to tell the man's multi-millionaire wife of the man's straying–Rowena
suspects that Hill has done the foul deed. The coroner's report, citing an unusual method of execution,
allows Rowena to convince her best friend, Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), that the evidence against Harrison
Hill is not simply circumstantial. Since Miles is a computer geek, he works together with Rowena to
entrap Hill, by setting Rowena up as a temp worker in H2H, having Rowena use her beauty and powers
of seduction to date Hill, and capture incriminating emails on Hill's hard drive to make an air-tight case
against him.

Foley's film is far from a simple murder story. Miles has an obvious crush on Rowena, who needs the
man's help desperately to make the case against Hill while at the same time dealing with the obvious
sexual tension without offending Miles–who in one case even hides out in another room while Rowena
has quick sex with her boyfriend, Cameron (Gary Dourdan). The film's chief moment of
tension–covered in the trailer–occurs when Hill catches Rowena in his private office while she is
capturing incriminating evidence from his computer. Several scenes involve strange, repetitive
nightmares indicating that Rowena has not had a trouble-free life, a childhood that may have paved the
way for her obsessive actions as both a journalist and a private person intent on resolving the crime of
murder.

The film could have used more moments of tension but bears particular merit in Halle Berry's stunning
portrayal of obsessive behavior. Bruce Willis and Giovanni Ribisi do well as her foils, while the
computer, particularly its capacity for sexy instant messenging, serves nicely as a silent, uncredited
performer.

Rated R. 109 minutes 2007 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online