Perfect Strangers - 2003
Gaylene Preston/Huntaway Productions - 96 min.
DVD UPC # 687797105899; 9321337040035; 9398520268033
Cast: Sam Neill, Rachael Blake, Joel Tobeck, Robyn Malcolm, Madeleine Sami, Paul Glover, Jed Brophy.
Screenplay: Gaylene Preston; Photography: Alun Bollinger; Editor: John Gilbert; Music: Plan 9 (David Donaldson, Janet Roddick and Stephen Roche); Production Designer: Joe Bleakley; Producer: Robin Laing, Gaylene Preston; Director: Gaylene Preston.
Filmed along the West coast of New Zealand's rugged and stormy South Island, this low budget thriller is unique and as such will not be accepted by all. Melanie (Rachael Blake) is lonely, living in a small town, working in a dead-end job and in need of male companionship. She meets a man (Sam Neill) at a local pub and agrees to go back to his boat, where she passes out from her drinking. When she awakes, she finds that the boat is headed out to sea. I defy anyone to figure out the ending to this many-layered, original story, even after viewing half way through. The film tone is definately tense and somewhat claustrophobic with a slow buildup of tension, helped by a great soundtrack and the moody landscape. Recommended.
Censor rating: M - Review rating: B+
