The Kindness of Strangers seems to have slipped into existence with few people noticing. Except for a couple savage reviews, you won’t see much about the film online. The movie was released in December 2019, just before Covid kneecapped the world. Between that and the Rotten Tomato score of 31%, I don’t think it has attracted many viewers.

The gritty film opens as Clara (Zoe Kazan) and her two sons slip out of their house in the middle of the night. They are escaping from Richard (Esben Smed), a uniquely cruel and abusive husband and father. Clara doesn’t report Richard to the police because he is the police. He is an officer on the city force.

Clara heads to New York City, where she tries to get her deadbeat father-in-law to help her. He refuses, telling her to go back to his son, which is a decision that haunts the man later. So, there she is in the Big Apple with no money, no plan, and only her car for a home. Soon, the car is towed away after Clara and the boys spend too much time lingering in a warm city library.

Here is what I didn’t like about the movie:

Even though the Canadians nominated the movie for a music award, background music seemed overwrought and intrusive, especially at the beginning of the film. After a while, maybe the music got better or maybe I stopped noticing. I’m not sure.

Several plot points strain credulity.  Sporting nice clothes and carefully coiffed hair, Clara shows up at fancy events to steal food for her kids. How does that happen? There is also one hospital scene that is hard to swallow. In real life, I believe the health care worker would have gotten arrested or at least fired for the brazen choice she made. But in the movie, no one seems to care.

Clara winds up having a relationship with Marco, a wrongly accused ex-con who manages a Russian restaurant. I can’t put my finger on it but the emotional landscape between them seems off. Marco yells at the restaurant owner, showing a hair-trigger temper, reminiscent of Richard, the problematic husband. I don’t want to include a spoiler here, but let’s say if Clara were to wind up with Marco, I wouldn’t necessarily being cheering.

Despite the above, here is what I liked about the movie:

The Danish director, Lone Scherfig, did a marvelous job evoking lovely performances from the two child actors, especially the older son, Anthony (Jack Fulton). Bill Nighy plays Timofey, the owner of the rundown Russian restaurant that Marco manages. Nighy speaks volumes with the mere arching of an eyebrow. Timofey is not his real name, nor is his Russian accent real. Yet, he insists on using the accent when conversing with patrons of his restaurant. Nighy’s spot on acting provides comic relief in the film.

One of the criticisms of this story is that people are never as kind as the folks who are portrayed in the movie. Another critic described the movie as twee and sappy. I find both to be strange complaints. For much of the movie, people aren’t kind at all. Clara is rebuffed at every turn. Many characters are portrayed as angry and cynical. For example, one recurring event is the meeting of the Forgiveness support group at a local church. The circle of chairs is filled with people who hate themselves and take pot shots at each other. No sappy sentiment here, just week after week, people in a group called Forgiveness who refuse to forgive themselves or others, which is funny in its own way, if you have a penchant for dark humor.

The movie addresses several issues: domestic abuse, homelessness, forgiveness, how we marginalize people who are down on their luck. The film also touches on my favorite topic: is redemption possible? And, if redemption does occur, are we alert enough to recognize it?

This film has a big heart. The music may be iffy and the plot may have some gaping holes, but I resonate with the hope it offers: although life can be horrible, there exists a remote possibility in the middle of the hell you are experiencing, you might encounter highly flawed, but kind strangers.

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