We Strangers

Why are cleaners expected to be dowdy and dull? Ray (Kirby) is a naturally glamorous woman, striking even in her work clothes. When Jean (Maria Dizzia) first sees her, there’s an anguished look in her eyes and one wonders if, just for a moment, she’s wondering if Ray is Dr. Patel’s new mistress, if she’s been replaced. She’s on the outside, banging on the French windows for attention. Ray is on the inside, confident and serene. It’s a little taste of power. There will be more to come.

Dr. Patel (Hari Dhillon), a podiatrist with an apparently lucrative private practice, is pleased with Ray’s work – so much so that he asks her to clean his house, too, and Jean’s house. The latter, to Ray’s surprise, is also occupied by Jean’s husband Ed (Paul Adelstein), who initially makes his presence felt through the large US flag in the front garden, and who has, in his basement, a wall covered with photographs of US flags which he’s taken in different states. He shows them to her proudly whilst bitching about Indian people, but there’s never a hint that he knows about his wife’s affair; they don’t pay that much attention to her.

Upstairs with Jean, and with Dr. Patel’s wife Tracy (Sarah Goldberg), the same kind of casual racism seeps into conversation. These people probably don’t think of themselves as racist, and in their own way they are well-meaning, trying to be friendly, just lacking in skill or in a basic understanding of the world outside their bubble. Ray copes with the frustration of it lightly until, all at once, Jean starts talking about voodoo and mystical powers. Then, on an impulse, she does something that will change all their lives: she takes advantage of those racist beliefs and proclaims that she can see into the spirit world.

What follows is partly farce, partly domestic drama, and partly an observation of the psychological underpinnings of assumed orders of power. With Jean and Tracy suddenly turning to Ray for advice, there’s the potential for all sorts of mischief, a bit of money-making and, perhaps a bit of education, though that cuts both ways. Although she suddenly finds herself treated more like a friend and not just ‘the help’, even to the point of being invited to a family party, Ray will have to deal with familiar prejudices nonetheless, discovering that in this and even in areas where they might directly improve their own lives, the women are disinclined to make meaningful changes. She changes, however, in ways that are delightful to see. Conventional narratives about power give way to a kind of liberation which is not only social but also philosophical.

Director Anu Valia makes sure we can see the seeds of it all along. At home with her loved ones or out clubbing in her free time, Ray shimmers in sequins, commanding the spaces she’s in with her laughter or a flash of her eyes. Valia and Kirby work together with wonderful ease, whilst cinematographer Charlotte Hornsby and editor James Codoyannis give key scenes a fluid, volatile quality which keeps us uncertain of how they’re going to develop. Elsewhere, large, open plan domestic spaces allow characters to move around each other as if on a stage whilst the camera hovers at a distance, a patient observer, letting viewers interpret for themselves.

As visually witty as it is thematically incisive, We Strangers consistently entertains. It screened as part of SXSW 2024 and one hopes that it will go on to find a much bigger audience.