Alone with a Stranger (2001) William R. Moses, Barbara Niven, Priscilla Barnes, Nia Peeples Movie Review

Alone with a Stranger (2001)   3/53/53/53/53/5


William R. Mosesn in Alone with a Stranger (2001)

The Case of the Evil Twin

Identitcal twins James and Max were separated at birth with James going to live with a caring, wealthy family who encourage him whilst Max ends up living with a prostitue and a drug addict who didn't care for him. As such whilst James ended up in a good job with an attractive wife Max ended up doing time. But when Max discovers he not only has a twin but one with a much better life than his he decides to take James hostage and replace him to get the great life he feels he should have had.

As a fan of William R. Moses the chance to watch him play both evil and good parts in one movie is something which made "Alone with a Stranger" a tempting prospect. Of course fans of TV movies will be familiar with Moses playing the good guys, the supportive husband or generous friend but playing it nasty, that is more of a rarity. But Moses is adept at playing both types of character and it is very much what Moses brngs to "Alone with a Stranger" which makes it watchable. Although in fairness Nia Peeples as his psychotic partner in crime certainly delivers some entertaining outbursts.

Barbara Niven in Alone with a Stranger (2001)

The trouble is that when you look past the acting the next thing which strikes you about "Alone with a Stranger" is not the storyline which sees Max planning to steal his twin brother's wealth but the collection of flaws and coincidences which dominate the movie. These range from Max not doing his homework when it comes to James and his family through to the room that they keep James locked up in. I suppose there was a time that I would have enjoyed this a lot more but having watched many similar movies which feature evil twins with evil plans the flaws end up sticking out more than anything which is good about the movie. One of the biggest is that James' wife has not driven a car since an accided, something which is a big thing in the movie, but you can guess at some point she will confront her fears, it is that routine.

What this all boils down to is that "Alone with a Stranger" is entertaining and certainly will appeal to an audience who likes William R. Moses, Barbara Niven as well as Nia Peeples. But this is a movie which also has some significant flaws which if this isn't your first evil twin movie end up sticking out and bugging you too much.


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