The Disappointing ‘We Strangers’ Keeps Outsiders at a Distance
How far can one lie take you? That’s the question at hand in Anu Valia’s feature film debut, We Strangers, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival March 9. It’s also the primary query that clouds Valia’s film, which spends its brief 80-minute runtime attempting to stretch one fabrication across an otherwise sparse, shallow narrative.
We Strangers is an intimate character study of a woman named Ray (the talented, mononymous Kirby), who works as a cleaner and housekeeper in Gary, Indiana. After Ray is hired by Dr. Neeraj Patel (Hari Dhillon) to clean up the building he’s purchased for his new practice, Dr. Patel asks her to do some work around his house as well. While there, Ray—who initially prefers to keep to herself and listen to Tinashe while cleaning (like any self-respecting person does!)—meets Dr. Patel’s wife Tracy (Sarah Goldberg), daughter Sunny (Mischa Reddy), and eccentric neighbor Jean (Maria Dizzia). Ray can’t help but notice Jean’s peculiar behavior around the not-so-good doctor, eventually deducing that she might be his mistress.
This is never explicitly stated in We Strangers. In fact, little narrative detail is ever specifically conveyed; Valia prefers to let the subtext do the talking. And while this makes for an intriguing first half of the film, the lack of clear character detail thwarts its momentum in its latter portion.