Main Cast: Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Weller
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 84 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Two women on different ends of the spectrum of corporate power come together with explosive results in this drama. Julie Styron (Stockard Channing) is a successful executive with a major international corporation who is starting to feel the pressure of her position; she has few friends and no family to buffer her from the responsibilities of her work, and she suspects that the company's CEO is thinking about replacing her. Trying to get one step ahead, she meets with the slightly manipulative headhunter Nick Harris (Frederick Weller). Julie's anxieties come to a head when she has to give a major out-of-town presentation without the help of her assistant Paula Murphy (Julia Stiles), who failed to show up on time. Furious, Julie gives Paula a severe dressing down before firing her, but then Julie is called into a meeting with Nick in which she gets some unexpected news -- she's going to be taking over his job. Eager to celebrate, Julie runs into Paula, and tries to apologize for their earlier encounter by offering her a hotel room for the night and a few drinks. In time, Nick also turns up at the hotel and the women - upon running into him - realize that he is a mutual acquaintance. Later, Paula shares a secret with Julie -- Nick raped one of her friends while they were in college, and since then Paula has pondered taking revenge against him. Julie is eventually drawn into Paula's plan when they encounter Nick later that evening. But there may be more to Paula than meets the eye. The Business of Strangers was the first feature from writer and director Patrick Stettner; the film was shown in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Widely dubbed "In the Company of Women" (in reference to Neil LaBute's ode to the dysfunctional psyche of corporate men), Patrick Stettner's debut feature offers up some interesting queries about the nature of women in such positions. But the filmmaking is less assured than LaBute's acidic, often darkly humorous look at the coldness in men's hearts, and despite the film's intriguing intentions, it doesn't take them anywhere terribly inventive. The film's success coasts on the bright, resourceful performances by Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles as, respectively, the frigidly emotional boss and her haughty protégé, and they make some of the screenplay's more unsuccessful passages seem more believable than they should be. The film is further hampered by an overabundance of obvious metaphoric imagery regarding men and women, none of which leaves much of an impression. Business is not without interest, but the promising source material is never as provocative or insightful as it purports to be. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Marcus Giamatti - Robert; Jack Hallett - Mr. Fostwick; Salem Ludwig - Man At Pool; Mary Testa - Receptionist; Buddy Fitzpatrick - Waiter; Shelagh Ratner - Airport Announcer
Credit
Nicole Arbusto - Casting, Joy Dickson - Casting, Kasia Walicka Maimone - Costume Designer, Patrick Stettner - Director, Keiko Deguchi - Editor, David Siegel - Executive Producer, Scott McGehee - Executive Producer, Derrick Tseng - Line Producer, Dina Goldman - Production Designer, Teodoro Maniaci - Cinematographer, Susan A. Stover - Producer, Robert H. Nathan - Producer, Tora Peterson - Set Designer, Noah Vivekanand Timan - Sound/Sound Designer, Patrick Stettner - Screenwriter, Sylvia D'Hautcourt - First Assistant Accountant, J. Dwight Tudor - Second Assistant Accountant, Cecily Kaston - Set Medic/First Aid
The Business of Strangers is a 2001motion picture that tells a story of a middle-aged business woman who had been sacrificing her private life for her career and a young mysterious woman who described herself as a short non-fiction writer and their spontaneous interaction.
Paula (Julia Stiles) is 45 minutes late for a business meeting with her boss, Julie (Stockard Channing). After the meeting, Julie threatens to end Paula's job. After Julie was promoted to CEO of the company, the two meet up in a bar. Julie apologizes for her rash reprimand and buys Paula a drink, and the two become drinking buddies for the night.
After some time of drinking, a male acquaintance of Paula's comes up to them. Paula rushes off to the bathroom and is followed by Julie, who wants to know what was wrong. Later, Paula informs her that she had a friend in Boston who had been raped by this man, though he did not recognize her now. Unbelieving, Julie asked if Paula was sure. Paula says, "I'll never forget that fucker's face". Julie states that she wants revenge, but Paula tells her it's over and to just forget about it.
They invite the man to Julie's room where they drug him, then take him down into a restricted area of the hotel that is under construction. Julie runs upstairs to get his briefcase, and she returns to find Paula stripping him.
She asks what Paula is doing and Paula replies: "If you or I woke up half-naked we'd think 'was I raped?', but if he wakes up half-naked, he'd wonder oh, God what did I do because he knows as all men do that he has the power to do wrong", they proceed to write nasty comments on his torso.
They continue drinking. Paula eventually confesses to Julie that it was Paula who was raped, not her friend, as she had previously stated, a fact that Julie has already concluded. The next morning, Paula goes to the airport, and meets her co-worker there. He reveals that he had never been to Boston, proving Paula's story to be false.
