Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageA Stranger Among Us (1992)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Detective Emily Eden (Griffith), already chastised for using excessive force, is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a Hasidic jeweller and a fortune in diamonds; when, after finding his corpse in the ceiling of his own office, she concludes that he knew his killer, with the permission of the Rebbe she goes undercover in the Hasidic community. Cue culture clash, romantic yearnings for improbably sensitive Rebbe-to-be Ariel (Thal), and a steadily growing disenchantment with the harsh ways of her own Gentile world. All too obviously influenced by Witness, the film fails on all counts. The lackadaisical plotting is frequently implausible, and the depiction of Hasidic warmth and integrity is not only embarrassingly rose-tinted but objectionable in its implied endorsement of the archaically subservient position of women.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Steve Golin, Sigurjon Sighvatsson, Howard Rosenman
Cast: Melanie Griffith, Eric Thal, John Pankow, Tracy Polan, Lee Richardson, Mia Sara full cast
Duration: 109 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now