Your tendency is to think the Julie and Paula are women at the opposite ends of the same road, but that is only partially true at best. For Julie the job has become everything: she is an "uberfrau," to quote Paula, who is divorced, childless, and drinks scotch just like a man. In contrast, Paula dismisses her work as "only a money job," declaring she is really a writer, collecting observations of the human condition as she makes a buck. Despite some rough spots, the two get along together pretty well, playing a quick mind game in the elevator with some businessmen, playing around in the pool during a swim, and chatting in the sauna. But then Nick Harris (Frederick Weller) shows up. He is an executive headhunter than Julie called in when she thought she was going to need a job. He ends up stuck overnight when all the flights get cancelled and he joins the two women. Julie thinks nothing of it, but Paula is very cold because she knows Nick, and when she tells Julie what Nick did one weekend in Boston, the move veers off towards a much darker direction.

Nick is just a pawn and not a player in this drama, mainly because nobody else can really fit comfortably onto the screen in any of the scenes between Julie and Paula. Clearly Paula is playing some sort of a game here, but exactly what sort, what the rules are, and what it all means is unclear. But the result is intriguing, from the time the two women start drinking double shots of the most expensive cognac at the hotel bar to the end of the film. Even if we question the actions of the characters, most specifically in terms of their motivations, the performances are compelling enough to keep us along for the ride.

Off the top of my head I cannot think of another film in which an older woman and a young woman go at it like this; the conventional Hollywood film is more likely to flip the genders rather than the ages of the two battling characters. I have to admit I was surprised to find the film was written and directed by Patrick Shettner, because that sort of undermines the idea that we are being offered insights into the psyche of the modern businesswoman. But that may explain as well as anything while the end of the film strikes such a discordant note with viewers. But you have to admit that few parts of this story take the conventional route and in the end the performances of Channing and Stiles, going after each other in ways I do not recall seeing before, is enough to justify watching the film. There are really no extras on this DVD, but that seems to make sense with "The Business of Strangers"; take this film at face value and make of it what you will.

There are interesting hints of what the film is really about throughout. We see Stiles waiting at the airport--did she really miss the plane, as she explained to Channing, or was she intentionally sitting and waiting, just to show up late? The subtle glances that Stiles gives Channing and the sole male character, played by Frederick Weller, show that she's thinking of much more than she shows on the outside.

Yes, this is a tale of control and manipulation, and the first half hour, sharply sketching the life of a senior sales exec--Channing--is right on target. Stiles' introduction is also well done and the initial scenes of the two of them together resonate. But with the introduction of the headhunter--Weller--the film begins to lose some ground. The sharpness begins to recede and eventually, when Stiles convinces Channing of Weller's crimes, it has become an altogether different film.

Yet the differences are ultimately intriguing, because we begin to see what is really going on. Stiles is super sharp; you get the feeling that she really doesn't have to work at all. She can get practically anybody else to do it for her, while she sits back and reaps the rewards. Though initially fired, Stiles is rehired by Channing and the two begin to form a bond based on Channing's guilt and Stiles' guile.

This is not a great film--hence the three stars--but it is curiously resonant. One leaves the theater with a sense of mild disgust, yet later, realizes that the manipulation on display was, in fact, very well thought through. An interesting film as a first effort for writer/director Patrick Stettner.