Review of The Stranger

No fault with the casting of Harris and Edgerton in the leads but they come across as very alike in appearance, especially in the dim and broody lighting used far too often. Both bearded and about the same height and now and again I got them mixed up.

I thought the fatherhood of one could be omitted, it did nothing for the plot (or what there was of it) apart from the underlying theme of child abduction and murder but then in the end why does Harris, the father, the undercover cop hug the perpetrator? Baffling.

I understand this is based on a true story of entrapment by undercover police trying to crack the case after many years of stalemate.

Extremely slow moving and long and a very unsatisfying ending which felt, to me, like contempt for the viewer. And extraordinarily rushed compared to the pace of the rest of it.

One excited waving of a searcher having found evidence? But we are never shown this important and key evidence. Seriously?

Then we are all left hanging as to the court case and charges. And conviction? Well who knows? It ends as abruptly as it began.

7 out of 10 for the acting of the two leads but zero for the limpy script.