The Strays

If motion pictures were critiqued based on their first half alone, this one would have earned itself a panning. But don’t go envisioning a miraculous tale of two halves where the second eclipses the first and redeems the whole to a position of artistic glory: here it just isn’t as bad. Coming to Netflix on 22^nd February, director Nathaniel Martello-White’s new film The Strays tells the tale of a woman, Cheryl-turned-Neve (Ashley Madekwe), who has abandoned her previous life, started afresh with unhindered success (it is unclear how) and is pursuing a cushy, suburban existence instead. All begins to unravel when significant characters from her past reemerge to haunt her and her new family. 

The Strays explores one poignant theme in particular: Neve (née Cheryl) has turned her back not only on her former life, but on her Black culture too. She actively resists her background’s influences on her life and her family’s. The fear and racial intolerance of her new neighbourhood is well portrayed and aptly shocking, and she plays along, which stings. She does what she can to conceal her Black identity and encourages her mixed-race children to do the same. Director Martello-White wanted to explore race and class as important elements of the narrative, emphasising the Black British experience, but also hoped his film would thrill in its own right. This, unfortunately, it falls short of achieving. 

This movie’s two major crimes are undercooking its own premises and a pretty rotten script. The characters and themes are established in only the most threadbare manner before dilemmas start tumbling in. Whatever the creators’ intentions, this feels less like daringly flying in the face of cinematic convention and more like poor judgement. What little exposition is included is heavy-handed: a fly-by classical playlist underpins her new wealthy lifestyle, she and her husband dance in the kitchen to indicate a happy marriage. While the narrative isn’t a bad one and the pacing is decent with a couple of striking reveals packed in, sadly, the script is dreadful. It’s as if the writers booted up ScriptBot 3000, set it to Human-Style Conversation Lite and went for a coffee. The characters’ interactions often seem clunky or dissonant (that, or they’re poorly improvised) and the dialogue is repetitive (“What is wrong with you [insert character name here]?” is dramatically overused).

Despite its obvious shortcomings, The Strays does muster a degree of tension as matters take a dark turn towards the conclusion. The instigators, Dione (Bukky Bakray) and Carl (Jorden Myrie), are compelling and veritably sinister, with real depth as characters. What’s more, there are genuinely witty moments. Regardless of cinematic deficiencies, The Strays is an upsetting and valiant portrayal of the challenge Black Britons face when it comes to social climbing.

Will Snell

The Strays is released on Netflix on 22^nd February 2023.

Watch the trailer for The Strays here: