Review for ‘‘The familiarity of a Stranger’’ by Scott Johnson

The short & bright (or dark, depending on your definition) Familiarity of a Stranger serves as our introduction to the work of first-time filmmaker Scott Johnson. What begins as heartfelt dialogue between two grieving characters gives way to tension and horror when a phone call turns our, and the characters’, perception of the situation right on its head.

A single-space, rather theatrical short like this lives and dies by its dialogue and performances. Fortunately, the sum of these two parts more than excels in bringing the inventive plot to life. The script is crafted with efficiency and emotion in mind, however some of the dialogue can come off as a cliché. Despite this, the central plot twist and the main emotional themes are well-crafted. Heather Reynolds’ performance is especially impressive.

From a technical standpoint, the film is impressively well-shot and framed, if a bit safe. We can see some ideas in their early stages that we hope take better shape and form in Mr.Johnson’s future work. The soundtrack however is impeccable, and perfectly accompanies both the innocent and the darker moments of the short.

All in all, Familiarity of a Stranger is a first-time director’s promising debut, a film that respects its audience’s intelligence and keeps us gripped from the beautiful opening credits all the way to its tense & shadowy final scene.