We Strangers - SIFF [2024]
Film
This film was viewed at the 50th Seattle International Film Festival
It's not an everyday occurrence that a cleaning lady in Gary Indiana admits to being clairvoyant, hurling herself into a lackadaisical hustle with wealthy white women champing at the bit to hire her psychic services. Well, it might be more common than I think, I've never been to Gary, Indiana so what do I know? But this is the exact scheme that Ray (Kirby) finds herself in as she watches Jean Lachia (Maria Dizzia), whose house she cleans, absorbed in a daytime cable show about psychics communing with dead relatives. Suddenly hatching her next hustle while putting herself further in the hole.
Anu Valia's feature film directorial debut, We Strangers, focuses on Ray and her ever-evolving dedication to the hustle. Starting as a commercial cleaner, Ray finds herself being hired by the affluent Dr. Neeraj Patel (Hari Dhillon) to clean up his house as he's desperate for some help. Within moments of cleaning the Patel household Jean arrives with a face full of concern that a black woman is roaming around the wealthy doctor's abode. While We Strangers appears to start with an overarching social commentary on race, it quickly veers off to the side to highlight the complexities of the wealth gap. As opposed to being in an exaggerated form of "extremely poor person taken advantage of by extremely wealthy people" Valia narrows the wealth gap but also turns the advantageous nature of characters on its head. Instead of Ray falling prey to the eccentricities of the wealthy Patel and Lachia families, she finds herself--or forces her way--into the driver's seat, as seen in her lucrative psychic shenanigans.
Kirby's performance is admirable, balancing the duality of Ray being under the water with her responsibilities (personal and professional) while also slowly accumulating command of her benefactors. Combined with Valia's colorful and visually appealing direction, We Strangers is easy on the eyes and at times a delightful optical journey. But Valia's obscure and messy story pulls Ray's escapades in different directions, spreading the thematic context too thin. Ray's personal life is scattered throughout, serving as an afterthought to her hustling lifestyle, muddying some of the more pivotal interactions she has with her mother (Tina Lifford) and partner Mari (Kara Young). However, I did enjoy Valia's wry excoriation of how time can be the biggest contributor to the wealth gap. The Patel's and Lachia families have 24 hours in a day and choose to sit on their asses while Ray feels as though she's only working with 12 hours to balance her personal and professional affairs. But that's not enough to save the scattered story and construction of Ray's character throughout the film that ends feeling hollow, with so much to say without actually getting a word out. There's also oft-repeated sub-context provided from an anecdote of a man in ancient times being imprisoned, finding his way out of his cell after a volcano eruption only to emerge as the only man left amongst the destruction. Is Ray working her way into a prison of her own making, controlling rich people too engrossed in their frivolity to care while forsaking her own family, ultimately ending up alone? I wish I could know the answer, but unfortunately, the repetitive volcano imagery doesn't aid in exploring this intriguing storyline. Leaving me waiting for an eruption that never comes.
Froth
I wasn't being facetious when I said that Valia's direction is bursting with color, leading to some visual appeal. Sure, overall I wasn't a fan of the film but I can't deny that Valia has the vision for pushing some boundaries and making a film that is great to look at. Its the main quality of the film, which when pairing with the constant volcanic references--no seriously that volcano pops up a lot--gives plenty of smoke and mirror vibes. Thankfully Holy Mountain Brewing recently put out a volcanic themed brew with their Smoke of the Volcanoes. This Grodziskie, a type I'm admittedly not wholly familiar with, is low in alcohol, making it refreshingly light, but containing a decent amount of smokiness as its style would imply. It possesses a slightly murky coloring amidst its pale yellow, but it wears it well, looking dashing as ever if I may say. The Smoke of the Volcanoes is a lot like We Strangers in its light bodied nature, smoky veil obscuring deeper introspection, and finishing it prepares you well for whatever comes next.
