They Are Strangers (2018) - Drama Film Review

I rarely read the synopsis for any film I am going to watch for review as I prefer to go in with my expectations completely neutral. Sometimes that does bite me however if I realise the film I have requested a screener for might not actually fit anywhere near the horror genre. For much of its eighty minute run time I was certain that They Are Strangers (written and directed by Zane L'Erario) may be one such film. Having agreed to review it I had to carry on, hoping there would be some way I could tie it to the horror genre. Thankfully this does finally deliver even if that does come virtually at the dead end of the movie.

Emilie Krause stars as Rebecca Thayer, a successful romance novelist who has hit writers block trying to write the follow up novel to her critically acclaimed last novel. Part of the reason for this is that she strongly suspects that her boyfriend William (Tom Schmitt - The Listing) is cheating on her, but not wanting confirmation of this, she hasn't confronted him about her suspicions. With a looming deadline for an initial draft of her new novel, Rebecca struggles to focus, becoming obsessed with finding out who the woman is that she believes has stolen her man's heart.

So, until around ten to fifteen minutes before the film ends is when elements of thriller move into what was otherwise a straight up drama. While not a perfect fit for this site, I still found myself enjoying They Are Strangers (the title referring to what happens to a once madly in love couple after they have broken up and gone their separate ways). I thought the protagonist was a great character, someone who is manic, confrontational, and a little bit eccentric. Meeting the character with her relationship already seeming doomed means that her wild persona makes sense, due to dealing with a broken heart. With a vivid imagination there are parts of this that have an unreliable aspect to them. This even includes a whole scene that plays out before it is revealed that it was just a daydream of Rebecca's. There was a good supporting cast for her, in particular I thought her publicist Kendra (Julie Stackhouse - The Listing) was great. The actions of the main character make a kind of sense, coming from a place of hurt as she is. It leads up to a twist ending that while not the most original was still something that I really did not expect, made for an interesting way to finish the film.

I thought the editing and directing worked well for this type of film. I liked the way the words she is typing when she is in the zone then show up floating around her. I also thought the close-up flashbacks of Rebecca and William in love were done well. For the most part there isn't much call for special effects, but when they are used I thought they looked great, can't really say what the effects actually were for fear of spoiling later elements of the plot.
They Are Strangers might not have exactly been what I was expecting, but it still told a good story with a twist that I appreciated, making this not a waste of time to watch. They Are Strangers has won numerous festival wins. It was released on EST/VOD/SVOD Digital platforms on 28th November 2023 and came to AVOD on 1st January.

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