There's an intriguing premise behind Patrice Leconte's film 'Intimate Strangers': a tax consultant starts receiving visits from a woman who mistakes him for a therapist, but in time he starts to wonder whether it is in fact she who is deceiving him. With nice performances from its small cast, the film avoids descending into pure thriller, but unfortunately suffers from the opposite vice: that while the premise is enticing, the film never truly moves beyond it, ultimately there's too little story here and that which does exist feels somewhat contrived. In other words, the subtlety of the mood shifts within the story are overshadowed by the mechanics used to bring these about: the result is quiet and distinctive film, but also a modest one.
Review of Intimate Strangers
