With his choice of material and the superb casts he assembled, it seemed impossible that Lumet could ever go so wrong as to create an all out misfire, an embarrassing, humiliating failure......
But like everybody else, Lumet was only human. Exhibit A: this woebegone, ludicrous would-be-thriller modeled after the Harrison Ford 'cop-among-the-Amish' blockbuster, 'Witness'......
'A Stranger Among Us' is no 'Witness'.......in fact, it should have gone into Witness Protection instead of movie theaters.
The plot hinges on a murder within New York City's tight knit, severely insular community of Hasidic Jews. Orthodox and bound by ancient Talmudic teachings to the extreme, the easiest way to describe them......imagine the Jewish Amish.....but even more strict and prayerful..
Into this semi-medieval conclave comes a quick-on-the-trigger, seen-it-all-done-it-all, tough as nails police detective, determined to crack the case. She's played by..........oy vey........Melanie Griffith.
Yes, that Melanie Griffith.......with the flat Barbie Doll voice and an acting range that stretches maybe three or four inches, if she makes an effort.......
It's possible that Lumet felt enough confidence in his directing skills that he believed he could pull off a miracle and extract a real performance out of Griffith.
No way. What you see with Griffith is all you're gonna get and we can't even begin to describe how hopelessly out of her depth she is. Her monotone non acting leaves a gaping hole in a movie that's already burdened with over a dozen other serious flaws.
The murder mystery part of the story is pathetic, especially in its use of two mafia goons as an obvious red herring.....(with one of the hoods played a young James Gandolfini). The revelation of the real killer provides an equally foolish, unbelievable climax to a movie that made no sense from its first minute on.
As for the potential starcrossed romance between Griffith and a saintly young rabbi-in-training........it comes off as idiotic as it sounds.........
And before we forget.....two more dishonorable mentions: a slapsdash music score by 'Fiddler On The Roof' composer Jerry Bock, mainly sounding like incidental noodlings he left out of the 'Fiddler' music. The music cheapens and panders during the scenes of Hasidic life......(and this in a movie the purports to treat the community it depicts with respect and tolerance)
The other downer comes from the film's deliberately artsy-fartsy backlit cinematography, trying to smear the movie with a thin layer of visual splendor so you think you're watching something important. You're not.
We'll go no further, other than to say nobody among us should waste time watching 'A Stranger Among Us'......Zero stars (0).
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