Perfect Strangers (1984)

Perfect Strangers: Directed by Larry Cohen. With Anne Carlisle, Brad Rijn, John Woehrle, Matthew Stockley. A hit-man tries to seduce the mother of a child who witnessed his most recent kill.

“After a Mafia hit man kills his target in a back alley, he looks up to notice a toddler has seen what he has done. When the mother comes out and notices the body, she goes about things as if her son didnu0026#39;t see anything. Under pressure by the Mafia to do something about it, he befriends the mother of the child to see how much the kid can put together of what he saw. The pressure starts to build as the Mafia is constantly on his back to rid the kid, while the boyu0026#39;s estrange father is trying his best to get back into the child and motheru0026#39;s life and the police are getting suspicious.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStyle and mood features strongly in director/writer Larry Cohenu0026#39;s understated low-budget noir-like thriller. Itu0026#39;s an atmospheric nail-biter in the old tradition of showing little in the way of explosive currents, but rather developing on the tight and emotionally realistic situation captured in the authentically haunting and forcible New York locations. Cohenu0026#39;s serviceable direction clearly cooks up an eerie presence from its shadowy urban backdrop that works favourably with Dwight Dixonu0026#39;s lingering smoky jazz cues throughout the stirring score and Paul Glickmanu0026#39;s prominently moody cinematography complements it all nicely. The editing is swiftly concise. Even with its cheap origins, it has a solid professional ambiance that goes onto make it one highly effective presentation. Cohenu0026#39;s cynically terse script swoops right into the social commentary, as on todayu0026#39;s menu is a feminist stance, children caught between feuding parents and the exploitation of their naïve innocence. There are few offbeat touches, but for most part the premise is played straight, as it did lack the sharp-laced wit weu0026#39;ve come to expect. This dry touch only heightened the taut nature, which leads to a potent conclusion. Sometimes holes can show up and at times the pacing can succumb to stodgy handling, but these moments are a minor fracture to the overall feel. Anne Carlisleu0026#39;s soothing performance is that of elegance, but also burning conviction as the mother. In a disquieting and subtle turn, Brad Rijn perfectly portrays his laconic character with a lurking menace that might drop his guard. Mathew Stockley as the child definitely passes the muster. In short, but extremely quirky parts are Ann Magnuson (as a feminist man hater) and Stephen Lack (stuck up police Lieutenant).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRe-watching this interesting and sorely overlooked Cohen entry, goes on to prove what a versatile filmmaker he is.”