Perfect Strangers (2003) User Reviews

A swirl of beauty and unconventionality

[MBunge · 6/10 · 5 May 2010]

This is a beautiful looking, odd little film that leaves you wondering what the heck it's really about. It could be the most misconceived woman-in-peril movie in cinema history. It could be about the irresistible human need for companionship. It could be about the relentless affability of New Zealanders. Whatever it's about, I kinda liked it.

Melanie (Rachael Blake) is the boss of a small café in a coastal New Zealand town. One night, she goes out on the town with her girlfriends and finds herself falling for the charms of a stranger (Sam Neill). He invites her back to his boat, where Melanie eventually passes out drunk. When she wakes the next morning, she finds herself stuck on the boat as the stranger steams toward his island home. At first, Melanie is unnerved but then she finds herself again falling for the stranger's charming sincerity. But when his creepy, unexplained obsession with her become unignorable and romantic temper explodes in a moment of violence, Melanie can no longer deny to herself that she's trapped on an island with a crazy person and is in serious trouble.

From that point, the story takes several eccentric turns that aren't at all what you'd expect from this sort of scenario. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on how much you're willing to indulge this movie's peculiarities. It never becomes truly bizarre, yet it's off kilter enough to make you wonder if you're not getting the point the film is trying to make.

Getting past the story, Perfect Strangers is very pretty. The scenery at the island is lovely and put to good use in the film, which has a very clear but subdued visual sense. Whether it's a body on the beach, a thicket of sticks woven together to cover a broken window or something as ordinary as a full bath tub, this movie has several memorable images.

Rachael Blake is a handsome woman who manages to take both the strength and weakness in Melanie and make them both equally real and equally vital. This film takes Melanie in a very different direction and Blake has to subtly bring you along to a situation and a woman you weren't expecting. Sam Neill has to walk a tightrope as the charming stranger who becomes a threatening psycho, because he's never allowed to be simply a deranged stalker. He has to be both threatening and non-threatening, going beyond the two dimensional stereotype suggested by this sort of character.

I liked Perfect Strangers. If you're looking for a melodramatic tale told with steely calm and that takes you in unconventional direction, you might want to give it a try.

Weird to the point of looniness

[Spod-3 · 5/10 · 16 October 2003]

I was reminded slightly of a current Australian release, 'Japanese story" which is also largely a two-hander, and has lots of time spent in remote locations. And it too has a fairly major plot twist along the way. But comparisons run out there. Rachael Blake is just as fine an actress as Toni Collette, but what she has to do here seems quite ludicrous. I get concerned when people begin to talk to whitegoods, for instance. You might find that at one point you think, where can this film go from here? And I don't think that question is resolved at all. The second half of the film in particular gets more and more bizarre and kooky, and even at the end I think many people would say "huh?'. Sam Neill was OK too, but I can't for the life of me think what possessed him to do this film. As a student film it would be acceptable, but not as a general release.

perfectly strange

[frodolives · 6/10 · 5 February 2004]

I went into this movie slightly apprehensive that it would be another splatterfest along the lines of girl goes with attractive stranger and finds out she's with a madman, (or the Devil - it's a fairytale motive that seems to have given rise to quite a few film and tv plots) but I was pleasantly surprised that the story, although it seemed to go down that way rather faster than usual, eventually twisted and turned away and into some highly unusual (and controversial?) territory - and though I guess the message it brings across about the nature of attraction and human relationships (especially those between guys 'n gals) is a deeply pessimistic one, I have to say it's one I can totally relate to.

There was a moment in about the middle of the movie when I thought, hey, the story is over now, what can possibly happen for the next hour or so? But it was then that it really got interesting - whereas up to that point, I kept having the feeling that I'd seen that movie before, by the end that was definitely not the case any more.

Bother having to be so cryptic, to avoid spoilers... I'd say, if you like kiwi movies of the more twisted and cryptic kind, if you like things like Jane Campion's radical explorations of the nature of sexual desire, then this movie is definitely for you - it also has some great acting and, being shot in NZ, some impressive shots of raw nature, though it draws much less on the physical beauty of the place than some other movies we've seen come out of here.

I wouldn't say it's the greatest movie I've ever seen (but then it's hard to compete with The Lord of the Rings (((grin)))) - but it certainly drew me in and was well worth the money and time invested.

Perfectly literate and thought-provoking

[lifeisshort · 20 July 2004]

I borrowed this film on video knowing only that it might be good because of Sam Neill. The other actors were not well known, at least,to me. I liked this film very much because I watched the film unfold not knowing what's going to happen next. There were no obvious 'surprises,' which is why I think this film is clever. Rachael Blake was fantastic in this film. It is really her story. The film had the elements of a fine Hitchcock movie –- surprises are really unpredictable, not 'put-on unpredictable' as some films of the same genre tend to be. One might think because the jacket write-up talked about a woman going out with a stranger purposely knowing it to be a one-night stand that the film would be full of steamy sex scenes. Wrong. The one love scene with the 'ghost' Sam Neill actually was tender. This is the essence of the story – the strangeness of relationships. I don't understand why other reviewers 'didn't get it'. This is not a literal film that expects the audience to think that the story is based on reality. It is not. But it touches on human nature. Before some of you misunderstand me, I said 'literal' not 'literate,' which is an entirely different word. The film is very well edited, not slow, as far as I am concerned. 'Lost in Translation' and 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' are painfully slow films and it's only hype that made them known to the public. 'Cold Mountain' was unbearably slow. I didn't get to Renee Zelwegger's part – I gave up not even half-way through the film. 'Perfect Strangers' intrigued me and it deserves to be seen. It is not about looniness. It is about the narrowness of the line between sanity and insanity. Acting, editing, direction and photography were top-notch. Go see it. It will make you think. Some may think the ending is macabre, but if you view this film as an allegory, you will better appreciate the story. Just be sure you understand that the 2 main characters never really had a sexual relationship. It is all in the mind. C'mon, people, be literate, not literal and you'll enjoy this movie. The irony of this movie is that the 'villain' Sam Neill turns out to be of tender heart and the 'tough' Rachael Blake really a vulnerable woman.

Not Worth your Time

[JoeytheBrit · 3/10 · 2 July 2007]

MAJOR SPOILERS

This low budget flick starts off as a straightforward single female in peril thriller before changing tack midway through and heading down the single female goes a bit bonkers path. There's no warning, or apparent reason, for her sudden mental slide, but that's just one of many issues the film's writer and director fail to address. Why any bloke would want to marry a mad chick who whacked him over the head with a shovel and tied him up in a tool shed which she then takes pot shots at while talking to said bloke's dead/imaginary mate who she has recently murdered and thrown in a freezer is way beyond me. I know he lives alone on an island, but even so he can't be that desperate...

Although the woman's descent into madness is unaccountably swift, the film plods along, neither knowing or seeming to care where it is going. The woman is never a sympathetic character, and neither her nor Sam Neill (who is considerably less bonkers, but still a little flaky all the same) are given any real back-story, so the viewer is given no reason to care what happens to them.

This one's about as satisfying as a knife in the gut after a one-night stand...

A very fine film that will hopefully see some North American distribution

[bebaker · 7/10 · 1 October 2003]

Saw Perfect Strangers at the Vancouver Film Fest, September 30, 2003. Well made, and thouroughly engaging movie that suprises at many turns. The simple story of a working class woman who goes home from a bar with an interesting stranger becomes first a story of kidnapping but then moves to a more complex story of love, obsession, and fear.

As with many foreign films, Pefect Strangers is not afraid to mix fantasy with reality. And, it helps to have excellent direction, music, and above all acting by the two leads.

I recommend this film if you get a chance to see it, or eventually rent it.

I don't get it!

[johnnybravo5005 · 2/10 · 7 July 2004]

I think Roger Ebert would have a tough time reviewing this movie. The story begins with our main character Melanie who is partying hard at the local pub when she accepts an obvious one night stand from The Man (Sam Neil)

Normally, one would expect a steamy sex scene to liven things up but the movie is rated PG 13 so instead Melanie passes out on the boat.

Waking up the following day from an intense hangover, Melanie discovers that The Man has taken her to a deserted island where he apparently lives and now we expect the obvious to happen.

The Man is a psycho who will hold her hostage on the island. She will try to escape numerous times but will fail. And in the end, he will probably get killed and she will get away.

Instead The Man gets hurt, and a weird series of events take place where Melanie is now going psychotic. Thats the biggest problem (well one of the biggest). In a film where one is being held prisoner, that is the person we are supposed to like and care about but eventually I felt sorry for Neils character who is supposed to be the bad guy. And the ending makes no sense at all.

Something like this would work better in a sequel to 'Dazed And Confused."

Intriguingly Psychological

[RobinCook70 · 7/10 · 28 March 2006]

I rented this last night with just the description of the movie on the DVD box cover. The casting was done very well and as the story unfolds of a woman (Rachel Blake) who meets a handsome man (Sam Neill) in a nightclub and proffers herself for the night, the subsequent kidnapping by him to a remote island seemed par for the course for a low budget movie ... but that's where any notion of predictability ends.

The kidnapper's story wasn't a part of this movie. His history and character was left cloaked with mystery. For example, had he done this kind of thing before? And, what was his overall plan? The only thing made clear was that he had stalked her prior to her approaching him for the night and had planned to steal her away. Due to Sam Neill's gentle appearing role in characterization, it became clear he had his own demented agenda of what Melanie (Blake) was supposed to be like, which was displayed by the one act of violently striking her. If he had survived, this movie would have been predictable.

After reaching the island and she fatally wounds him and attempts to keep him alive and to return back to shore dragging his dying body in his boat, she snapped. Even during the attempt of nursing him back to health I had mixed feelings about keeping this creep alive and thus, the movie succeeded in pulling me in further. As a result, this movie is more intriguing and psychological with the focus on the victim and various coping mechanisms. After all, when stuck on an island with no phone, electricity, no boat, no radio, and no seafaring knowledge and no land in sight along the horizon, I ask myself, what would I do? After being stranded and alone on the island she identified with her dead kidnapper and fantasized being in love with him. Along comes Bill (Joel Tobeck) arriving on the island and as mentally insane she had become, he takes her to do the vows, which is yet more oddity than irony. In the theme of how the movie unfolded, it made me wonder if Bill was part of her mental incapacitation and/or means of coping... a blend of harsh realities with self-mental death & horror.

Focus was on the kidnapped victim for this movie, and in such a circumstance and given all the creative juices for this intriguing film, I gave it a 7 rating since it really is more than the standard fare of predictability and typical action genre. This was and is a "deeper" psychological thriller like no other and Blake's performance in carrying out the twists and depths of her changing mind and coping were done superbly. I felt that Sam Neill's performance was harmonious to what the writer was attempting to project and portray. This is a movie that stays with you for some while after watching, and if that was the intent, then it succeeded. Regarding my dustshelf, this would be a movie I may watch again when in one of my psyche modes.

Thriller?

[stensson · 5/10 · 20 August 2004]

It starts like a conventional girl-goes-home-with-the-wrong-man-horror. After a while it is almost relation comedy and psycho drama and relation comedy again.

You miss the traditional agenda here. This is perhaps a form experiment, mixing genres. But the mix is not done in a clever way. You expect something to happen, a real climax, but it never comes and you are slowly getting uninterested.

This kind of genre mixing can be exciting, but the actors here are not capable of fulfilling the director's intentions. A failure and not a very good one.

Strange, but funny.

[marimerce753 · 6/10 · 27 July 2004]

I liked this movie (or at least I think so... I'm not quite sure). It's very strange, but funny.

Maybe it's the best role in which I've seen Sam Neill, even though I believe he doesn't convince completely in that scene in which he gets rough and hit the girl.

In the other hand she does a good job (and during all the movie!!): I liked it, despite she's not very famous here in Spain. It's the first of her movies I have heard...

The best: The end (frightening!)

A big disappointment.

[s3160292 · 3/10 · 5 November 2003]

Perfect Strangers is an unfortunate example of the third rate product government film finance initiatives can churn out. Essentially, it's a case of too few plot ideas stretched to 90 minutes by a poor screenwriter. As a result I really enjoyed 2 of the 5 reels of film, but almost fell asleep during the other three.

What started out as an interesting, plausible story quickly degenerated as the story rapidly grew more and more irrational. Ultimately, two thirds of the film was spent aimlessly tracking over stale ground. The major points of the plot are tenuously linked together through a thin and illogical thread.

Hands down, Perfect Strangers contains the worst acting of Sam Neil's erratic career (which is a shame as it also contains some of Rachel Blake's best).

I was bitterly disappointed in Perfect Strangers.

"The Man" and the woman...get a perfect 10

[seabreeze-1 · 10/10 · 15 May 2005]

This movie has been hanging out in the New Release section of blockbuster stores since the day it arrived on DVD around a year ago. That's because people keep re-renting it (no, not me...I bought my own copy). My praise will not do this movie justice. I have not seen Sam Neill act more convincingly in a movie. He got that mysterious stranger role down perfectly. Rachel Blake was extraordinary. You just couldn't take your eyes off either one of them (regardless of the condition they were in). This is a beautiful movie, with stunning actors, breathtaking scenery, and haunting music. While watching the movie, you'll find yourself asking yourself "what would I do?". You'll also say to yourself "I must get that soundtrack!" I highly recommend it! @-->--> Kris

Hitchcock goes down under

[Philby-3 · 7/10 · 2 June 2005]

This is an off-beat, wry thriller of the sub-Hitchcock "lone female in peril" genre from a country whose inhabitants find it difficult to take themselves seriously.

Rachel Blake's Melissa is a woman past the first flush of beauty. After a hard day in a Westport fish and chip shop, she picks up handsome, suave charming Sam Neil in a bar, and he sweeps her off in his well-appointed fishing boat to his place, a shack on a lonely offshore island. She wakes up next morning with – Sam Neil, kidnapper and possible murderer. Being the plucky sort she gets in first and stabs him, and finds herself looking after him and falling in love. Unfortunately, she can not get him to medical help and he dies. No matter, there's this solar powered deep freeze and she puts him among the chickens and hams, happy to chat to him. But then another man arrives on the island, and Sam's ghost hasn't left.

The tale is told largely from Melissa's point of view and, being in need of love it's plausible she might fall for a man who might turn out to be her murderer. It's odd that she so readily transfers her affections to someone else. Does she really think Sam is still around? Has she gone nuts? Rachael Blake is perfect as Melissa; a bit battered by life but still sexy, and with a single minded determination to stay alive. Hitchcock probably would approve of Melissa's assertiveness (due to his wife's influence he was a bit of a closet feminist). Sam Neil is always good as a mysterious stranger, though he must wake up sometimes and ask "who the hell am I this morning?" (He has never really bettered his 1983 performance as the title character in "Reilly, Ace of Spies".) Here, he is not called upon to explain his character, which is just as well. Sam isn't in to explanations.

The West Coast setting, lush and bleak at the same time, is terrific and it's a nice film to watch, but it is an odd mixture – thriller looping into a caper-comedy. Very NZ though. I think Hitchcock would have liked it a bit more than the work of some of his American and French followers.

'Perfect Strangers'

[alexandra-hendrick · 1/10 · 15 March 2006]

This film was by far the worst that I have ever seen. The plot was flat and confusing with unexplained twists that only seem to weaken the already nonsensical plot. Many of the points seemed unnecessary while other important parts were rushed or skipped altogether. Too much was thrown in too fast while many scenes seemed to have nothing to do with the previous one, leaving the audience in a state of confusion and unsure of what to think or expect. In all, I found it to be anti-climatic, confusing, poorly executed, and pathetically hilarious. I do not recommend this film, unless you would enjoy a complete disaster on screen.

Another Gem from the Kiwis - Spoilers

[vampiresan · 2 November 2003]

New Zealand has lately been offering some fantastic screen experiences and proving that it is more that just that place where Lord Of The Rings was made.

Perfect Strangers is another memorable achievement from this country.

Although many may find the story bizarre, it is in fact an interesting pyschological portrait of the current "mating game" that singles all over the world have to deal with. Just who are you taking home? Can the person in our mind's ever really be real?

This film travels some interesting roads examining this theme. And best of all it is impossible to know where it will go next.

For those who like predictable stories Perfect Strangers is not for you. But if you are interested in going somewhere very different in your cinematic Journey you shouldn't miss this.

Yawn

[PatrynXX · 5/10 · 31 March 2005]

I pick up two rentals , one being a classic In the Mouth of Madness and the other this one. Somehow these two movies go hand in hand. Unfortunately your likely to fall asleep watching Perfect Strangers. One reviewer says it's unsettling. And that's how I'd probably put it. It flows (unlike Forgotten, ) but it's also utterly boring. Hence I'm not sure if I wanna sleep now or have a fit of a nitemare. It's like okay.. so... she killed him. Then she went nuts. He was already nuts? Oh well. I'm not sure I'd paste this as a great Sam Neill film. He seems older in this movie and boring and depressing wasn't my idea of a good time. Nor was it entertaining. Think I'll go jump off the dock now. :(

5/10

Quality: 7/10 Entertainment: 1/10 Replayable: 0/10

Whimsical and a touch wistful

[ivonash · 6/10 · 5 January 2007]

I disagree with the previous comment. The movie possesses enough drama and suspense to keep the viewers interested until the very end. This is the story of two people who could have been happy together under different circumstances. It's also the story of what happens when people make the wrong choice. The movie asks the question what makes a certain choice the wrong one and points out that every choice could be both right and wrong. The music is well chosen, and the combination between Puccini's opera "Madam Butterfly" and a number of contemporary ballads enhances the atmosphere. The ending is unexpected and leaves the viewer surprised and delighted at the same time.

Imperfect strangers in an imperfect movie

[The_Void · 5/10 · 30 April 2005]

As far as discreet, not noteworthy and surplus to requirements films from 2003 go, Perfect Strangers isn't a bad one. While the film isn't brilliant, or even good really, it's a fair way to spend your time and if you've got ninety minutes free, there's a lot worse things you could be doing with it. Like sticking rusty screwdrivers in your eyes, for example. The film exists in familiar territory, and follows the over-used plot formula of 'man meets woman, takes her home and turns out to be a psycho', but it mixes in elements of other genres and some down right strange ideas, and the result is a somewhat original take on the idea. Of course, most of the originality that is implanted into the plot fails, but you've got to admire a film for at least trying to be original, even if it doesn't completely pull it off. The movie's best moments are when it's doing it's best to be absurd, and it even manages to take on a black comedy feel when the story gets going. Of course, much of it's plotting is illogical or over acted or both; but then again, you could say that's your fault for taking a chance on it.

Sam Neil is the headline star of the movie, and does what he usually does. I don't like Sam Neil, I find him boring and I haven't seen many films that feature a truly convincing performance from him. Quite how he managed to achieve something resembling fame from just plodding around the set of whatever movie he's working on is one of cinema's great mysteries...but as long as he stars in movies that make money, I guess we're just going to have to put up with it. I suppose at least this one didn't make much. Neil is out-performed, out-shined and outcast by Rachael Blake, however, who stars alongside him, and like him, doesn't give a very convincing performance. That just goes to show how easy it is to outshine Sam Neil. Perfect Strangers falls down principally on the whole because of it's plotting. While the film is never actually boring, it starts off slow and just as it's about to pick itself up, it falls down again and after it's done this three or four times, it gets very annoying. Don't be too harsh on that front though, it is only ninety minutes long. I don't really recommend this film, but if you've just rented it and now you're on here wondering what it's like; I can tell that it's o.k.

Curious about it

[jschmidt505 · 6/10 · 3 January 2005]

I'm not sure what this film is really about but I don't think that it's any of the comments that I've read.

There are a number of items to consider. The island appears to be both tropical (palm trees) and cold - the woman is dressed for cold and looks cold.

When the woman arrives and awakes, her clothes are there, none of the guy's clothes are around......all of her clothes are around.

When she tries to escape, the boat is first at low tide, then afloat at high tide when she succeeds. I'm sure that there's a message there somewhere.

She can't operate the boat radio, then she navigates it as a captain.

The old flame that reappears....is he killed when she uses the rifle? Are one or both of the men aspects of her personality? He takes and clearly enjoys the candlelit bath.

Not so good

[gianmarcoronconi · 4/10 · 27 May 2023]

We have to start by saying the positive parts of the film, which are the very beautiful atmosphere of anxiety that surrounds the whole film and the semi-paranormal stuff that is introduced from half of the film onwards. Now let's talk about the most negative stuff ever, the plot, because the plot, not because it's bad but because it's very complex and the film can't handle its complexity well, resulting really too hasty and stupid in some points, this is because everything happens too fast and the film does not manage well to contextualize the various choices of the characters who on too many occasions seem forced and too irrational so as to distract the viewer's attention from the film to wonder if what he is seeing actually makes sense and is coherent or no.

Captivating

[o_pearly-55296 · 7/10 · 12 June 2015]

I happened to turn on my TV and this movie was just beginning on Showcase. I like Sam Neill so I decided to get a cup of coffee and watch a few minutes. I ended up sitting through it all.

Sam Neill, as 'The Man' made a very charming, slightly twisted but totally delusional character who escorts a very pretty but slightly drunk Melanie, played by actress Rachael Blake, to 'his place' which is a skiff docked in the harbor. She has too much wine to drink and passes out on his boat. When she wakes, they're out to sea. They arrive at a remote uninhabited island where 'the man' has a shabby but chic cabin on a bluff. He fixes her a hot bath, prepares a delicious dinner for her.

It gets weird after this. He tells her he loves her, imagines she's someone else, she tries to escape, ends up stabbing him in the side. I thought that would be the end of the weirdness, but it was just the start. The movie held my interest, made me laugh at some of the things Melanie does with 'the man'. It ends on an upbeat note.

It's a love story really. We're led to believe it will be a story about kidnapping and being a hostage trying to escape but it's not at all. It's a very decent movie with a great performance by Rachael Blake. I'm surprised I haven't seen her in any movies before or since this one.

Love, madness, life. A thriller for "adults"

[mkw-5 · 9/10 · 28 March 2006]

A previous previewer said that this was in his/her opinion "like a small student movie", like that would be something bad(?). Anyway, there is nothing amateurish or "student" in this movie. Maybe the guy was talking about the simplicity and small-scaleness of the film. Yes, it is that. But simplicity is/can be very brave and rare today. Many times filmmakers try to hide their lack of ideas under a chaos of different ideas and technical complexity.

This was not the greatest masterpiece of all time, but it was well worth watching. The script was very clever, and the directing and the "flow" of the movie was very well made. Sam Neill and the lead actress were very good castings for these roles. I think it's refreshing to see movies that don't try to be anything else than what they are. I rate this movie not compared to any other movies I've seen, but as an independent being and work.

Strange little film

[Amnes · 7/10 · 2 April 2005]

I have to agree with some other reviewers, there are continuity errors which make the film even more unbelievable than it is, great NZ scenery and cinematography, and also it does resemble "Japanese Story" in many ways (not sure which came first, I think Perfect Strangers may have).

Having said that, I liked it a lot, Rachel Blake is great, Sam Neill is always engaging, but it is a bit too far fetched or too muddled a storyline, which (along with the continuity errors) makes it difficult to 'suspend disbelief'.

One of the aspects I most liked was the 'mainland' sequences with the girlfriends, it was a shame they were so brief, there was a lot to like in those scenes. Well worth seeing, and it does stay with you, possibly because it's a puzzle of a film, whether that is intentional or not is the question.

Perfectly Silly

[jax713 · 5 February 2006]

Yet another film boondoggled by sophomoric "artistic vision." What starts out as a potentially interesting story - a rather hum drum woman who leads a hum drum life meets an unusual, perhaps loony, man on one of her outings to a local singles bar - ends in the most mundane psychotic break ever depicted on screen. This could have been a fairly engrossing dramedy about the desire to be in love, but it went off-topic into a macabre rendition of guilt and mental illness. Though the "need" to be in love becomes the overriding emotion in this story, it is presented in a grotesque, yet surprisingly boring, way. The story physically isolates the characters from the rest of the world by putting them on an island, but the real world is not that far away so it makes the happenings on the island less believable and, in fact, emphasizes the plot holes. The ending is just plain dumb and I wondered if Melanie was really pregnant or if she was having what I believe is called an hysterical pregnancy wherein a woman experiences all the symptoms but isn't really going to have a baby.

This is a good movie for insomniacs who won't be kept awake too long. I actually nodded off in the middle and had to rewind, but found I hadn't missed anything important. One star for adequate acting by the principals even though they didn't have much of a script to work with.

Intriguing storyline, wonderful scenery, great acting.

[raewyns · 9/10 · 11 February 2004]

I really enjoyed this film, the plot had some interesting twists (although at times it was a little difficult to follow).

The title helps in understanding the film - "Perfect Strangers" tells us that only a stranger *can* be perfect.

This is the story of a woman who has been through several failed relationships, and is cynical about the likelihood of ever meeting someone she can trust and who will love her forever.

After being kidnapped by 'The Man', Melanie eventually realises that at last she has met the perfect man who will love her no matter what. She falls deeply in love with him, and does everything she can to stay with him on the island.

In the end he continues to be perfect only because he remains forever a stranger.