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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Walt Disney Video
Salesrank: 39196
Released: June 3, 2003 |
| Our Price: $4.65 |
| Used Price: $4.24 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Academy Award(R)-nominated star Melanie Griffith (Best Actress nominee -- WORKING GIRL, 1988) turns in a winning performance as detective Emily Eden, a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret world of unwritten law and unspoken power, a world where the only way out is deeper in! Delivering edge-of-your-seat excitement that won't let you go, this action-packed thriller is sure to entertain you with its sizzling star power, electrifying story, and nonstop surprises!
A Stranger Among Us Reviews:
A Stramger Among Us 
2009-08-01 - This is an old movie, but is very good. Mystery and romance and surprises along the way. Over all a great movie.
Really Bad 
2009-04-27 - Wow, this movie was horrible! First off, I should say that Melanie Griffith was hardly believable in her role. She should have been slotted as a social worker, and not a detective! The overall plot was weak and the sub-plots (Emily and her two co-worker potential lovers especially) were too cursory. There was not enough of anything to place this film into any genre really (i.e., drama, romance, action). Also in the script, so many things just don't add up.
But the worse thing to watch was the laughable portrayal of the Chassdim. I mean, you would think with a movie like this, they would at least hire in a consultant to make it seem half believable! The first thing I noticed is that men and women were touching cute a bit. That just would not be happening -- not even in the larger Orthodox Jewish community, much less the Chassidic community. The second issue was the two chassids (the one that was killed, and Mendel) setting up their own shidduchim. But the biggest issue was Eric Tahl's incredibly poor portrayal of a chassid -- going around and quoting kabbalah much less. He presents the kabbalah as the Jewish karma sutra and defies just about every aspect of male tznius (modesty).
The only redeeming aspect of this film was the cinematography. There were some great shots done including the funeral, the Friday night Shabbos meal and oneg (celebration after) and the final wedding. Other than that, it's pretty much a waste of a movie.
family friendly
2009-02-13 - I never seem to get bored with this movie no matter how many times I have seen it over the years.
One of My Top Five Favortes
2009-02-02 - "A Stranger Among Us" is one of my Top Five Favorite Films. If you read the description of the movie on the box or in most of the reviews, you will not know anything about this movie. What is is really about is the Love of God's people for Him and their love for each other. When I watch it, it encourages me to be kinder, more loving, more relaxed, more cerebral. -- M.T.
A Different World 
2009-01-04 - "A Stranger Among Us"
A Different World
Amos Lassen
I came across "A Stranger Among Us" when a friend from my temple gave it to me thinking it was the kind of movie I would enjoy. He was so right. I am glad I did not read any reviews first so my head was clear as I sat down to have a really enjoyable experience.
This is a very low-key movie which centers around Hassidic Jews and the way that they live and it gave a really interesting look at a way of life that is foreign to most of us.. Sure, it has its fair share of kitsch but I managed to overlook it to watch an interesting, if not believable story.
Melanie Griffith goes undercover in the Hassidic community of Brooklyn to solve a murder. Maybe she was not perfectly suited for the role but she was ok--no great shakes, just ok. She plays a cop who has a great deal of cynicism about the world in which she lives. Perhaps that is why it is interesting to see her enter the world of ultra-Orthodox Jews. She is gradually accepted into that world and gains respect for its customs and traditions. I found this to be especially moving. We watch her take part in meals, etc. and we begin to understand the cloistered world she enters where there are rules for everything. (Even though I was raised as an Orthodox Jew, there was a lot I learned here and I felt as if I smiled during the entire film).
Of course there is sexual tension---the movie was made in 1992 and it was necessary in order to draw people to the theater. Here the tension is between Emily (Griffith), the cop and Talmudic student, Ariel (Eric Thal). The romantic element was enhanced by the idea of a person finding his "beshert" (soul mate).
The movie is not just a mystery but has a subplot--moving toward a life that is real. While Emily enjoyed being a cop and having a good partner, something was missing from her life which was shallow and lonely. The Hassidic community offered her what was missing even though she was not allowed to have it. As she immerses herself into the Jewish community, her eyes are opened. The scene of the celebration of the Sabbath was particularly moving and beautifully done. It made me a bit homesick as I remembered the Sabbath celebrations I had been part of. The rabbi of the community treated her as a daughter--he understood what it meant for her to have to deal with evil on a daily basis. Ariel, the man to whom she is attracted represented integrity to her and this allowed her to find joy as a part of the community she had entered.
A word about the actors--this was a vehicle for Griffith but there are two other stars here. The first is the Hassidic community which is beautifully and honestly portrayed (something we do not get to see usually because of their many laws). The other star and I would go so far as to say, the real star is Eric Thal, who played the
adopted son of the rebbe. He stole the film as the man of compassion and understanding and gentility. He is quiet and humble and sensitive and courageous--a real rebbe to be and he will gloriously fill his father's shoes.
A great movie this is not but I enjoyed every moment. And yes, Griffith solves the crime and learns a little something about love and life.
