I’m back with another movie review. And I will get straight to it while it is fresh on my mind because we have some things to unpack tuh-day! Please tell me that someone else has watched the movie, The Strays.
The Strays is a psychological thriller released on Netflix on February 17th. It follows a racially ambiguous black woman who runs away from her family, and life in general, to create a comfy suburban life among her white peers.
Initial Reaction
Initially, when I saw the preview, I thought this was going to be a movie based on a woman who was being haunted or hunted by black neighbors that she may have mistreated somehow. I also thought that they may have just been made up in her head. When I realized within the first five minutes of the movie that the woman was actually a black woman who had a rough start in life. From then, I was intrigued because I had the story all wrong.
What I Enjoyed
Firstly, the main thing that stood out to me throughout the movie was the main character, Neve, played by Ashley Madekwe’s, ability to consistently shy away from her blackness. She never truly felt bad about it either. That was who she was. Is this morally right? No. But when it is a character’s job to make the audience feel as uneasy and uncomfortable as they are, her character’s personality translated it well.
I also enjoyed watching the pushback that her children, Mary, played by Maria Almeida, and Sebastion, played by Samuel Paul Small, gave her. It was clear that they both were also uncomfortable with their blackness. But their discomfort stemmed from them actually wanting to embrace the parts of them that their mother never wanted to talk about.
For example, when Mary comes home with cornrows, Neve barely compliments her. She is speechless until her husband, Ian, played by Justin Salinger, speaks up to tell Mary that the hairstyle suits her.
Now what had my mouth on the floor? The scene when Neve finally acknowledges the two people that seem to be following her, Marvin, played by Jorden Myrie, and Abigail, played by Bukky Bakray. When she lashes out at her own gala and asks them how they got in, but they respond by calling her mom? OMG! I did not see that coming at all. By this time in the movie, I thought that maybe it could have been an ex and her sister that she left behind at the beginning of the movie. But her children? The plot thickened quickly during that scene!
I think one of my favorite parts of the movie was the character development of Marvin and Abigail. The emotional rollercoaster that both characters underwent as they spied on their mother from afar was both unnerving and heart-wrenching. Abigail especially. Marvin’s hard exterior rarely came down, but Abigail acted like a child who just wanted the comfort of her mother. Between her carrying around a stuffed animal and referring to people as meanies, you could tell that Abigail was mentally and emotionally behind people her age.
What I Would Change
The first thing I would change was the beginning scene of the movie. We are introduced to Neve as she is clearly unhappy with her life as she speaks with her sister, but after that, the scene flew by. We saw and heard a man calling her to answer the phone, but we were not privy as to why. If I remember correctly, I don’t recall hearing much about her children either, if at all. I think in general, the story lacked exposition wise.
I also believe that some scenes lacked authenticity. This is a fictional psychological thriller, yes. But, in the moments when both Abigail and Marvin scared Mary and Sebastion, there should have been more pushback. Mary barely questioned Abigail when she was being verbally aggressive at the hotel. And Sebastion just trusted Marvin after he yelled at him to stand on the edge of a building, causing him to urinate on himself? Not buying it.
Some dialogue and scenes were random to me as well. Before Sebastion stood on the edge of the building, Marvin questioned whether or not he was on that “man shit.” But when did their hanging out become about Sebastion wanting to feel more like a man? And to add insult to injury, the two go jump Sebastion’s teammate and Sebastion crushes a ball on his head.
Yes, I do know that that same teammate was giving Sebastion a hard time toward the beginning of the movie, but Sebastion never seemed that intimidated by him. And I also want to know what ended up happening to that teammate. Did he die? Did he tell anyone what Sebastion did? They never touched on that subject again.
My final grievance about, The Strays, is more of a personal opinion. (I am aware this is all opinion based, however, this one, does not necessarily mean it didn’t work well with the overall storyline). Why did Neve go and leave those kids again?! That threw me off.
Not only did she RE-leave her first two children, but she also left her younger two children with those same mentally UNSTABLE first set of children. Who just aided in the MURDER of their father! What kind of person would leave people they supposedly love, with murderers? Be it their children, or not. Matter of fact, what kind of MOTHER would do that? Sigh… that scene was frustrating, but also very on-brand for Neve’s character.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I give the movie a 6. I did not hate it, however, I think the exposition lacked tremendously in setting up the main character’s back story and personality in the beginning. And I believe the relationships between certain characters came off as inauthentic. The consistency of the characters individually and the plot twist, were a lifesaver in this movie, for me.
