Sisterhood, revisited

>> The Business of Strangers is an explosive meditation on women and ambition

by MATTHEW HAYS

With The Business of Strangers, the feature debut of writer-director Patrick Stettner, women are dragged through some of the very worst aspects of corporate ladder climbing. Perfectly cast are Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles, as two women stuck in an airport hotel for a night. Channing is the canny, cool, hyper-intelligent corporate executive, having clawed her way up the ladder of ambition within her company. In the film’s opening scene, she assumes Stiles, her new assistant, has fucked up on the details of an errand, and promptly fires her via cell phone. The two are then stuck in the airport and Channing, realizing she’s made a mistake, makes amends with Stiles by taking her for a drink. As the two bond and reveal themselves to each other, various power trips are played out throughout the night.

This is essentially a two-hander—with one additional male character thrown in to create a plot bender late in the movie—and two-handers are intricate and difficult things to make work. But the film never devolves into silliness or preachiness, despite the subjects it touches on, thanks to two things: Stettner’s script pushes buttons without being shrill (he’s clearly a keen observer of character with a sharp wit), and his casting calls. Channing is rife with reminders about the perils of the acting trade; after her star turn in Grease, Channing suffered an astonishing dry spell, something that really didn’t let up until her remarkable comeback in Six Degrees of Separation. It isn’t too much of a stretch to draw parallels between the dog-eat-dog Tinseltown universe and American corporate board room culture.
Stettner also deserves praise for his subtlety. The influence of contemporary feminist thinkers—from Susan Faludi to Camille Paglia to Naomi Wolf—can be felt throughout, but Stettner has the good sense not to drop names. Instead, he shows us the downside of getting ahead, the sacrifices, the collision between ideals and reality. This is that rarity of January releases: a smart movie. :

The Business of Strangers opens Friday, Jan. 18