Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Strays.IfJordan PeeleandBong Joon-hohad a love child in the form of a movie, it would be the new Netflix horror psychological thriller,The Strays. Of course, they would be working with a much smaller budget, and you might not recognize the players, but their cinematic bundle of joy would look a lot like this film. And it’s important to stress that we are in no way implying or inferring that the film is on the level of what we’ve seen from the two shooting star directors, but is a fun ride, nonetheless. In a story about class separation, race, abandonment, and appropriationThe Straysand directorNathaniel Martello-Whitetell the story of Neve/Cheryl (Ashley Medekwe), a light-skinned Black woman who walks out on her two young Black children Carl (Jordan Myrie) and Dione (Bukky Bakray), and begins a brand-new life in an affluent all-white suburban neighborhood outside of London. you may see elements of Peele and Joon-ho all over Martello-White’s work, and it looks like he is aiming for an ending that would make Peele proud. And he almost pulls it off…almost.
RELATED:What’s New on Netflix in March 2023
Who is Cheryl/Neve Actually?
In the film’s opening sequence, we are introduced to Cheryl, a Black woman who is despondent, complaining about her life situation. She is in a run-down room on a worn-out couch as a stream-of-consciousness ambient voice is engaged in a conversation lamenting about how tired she is of relying on the government for handouts. She is tired of the way people look at her when she waits in line for assistance. The narration gets louder and louder as if she is being suffocated by it, and the cramped confines of her lower-class dwelling. Suddenly, we see Cheryl get up and walk out of the room and out of whatever life she had been living up until that point. The next shot is of the neatly manicured, tree-trimmed upscale suburban neighborhood that is lined with middle to upper-class white people doing yard work and going about their daily lives. Next, we see Neve applying her makeup carefully dabbing her face with light tones in order to accentuate her whitish features and disguise anything that makes her look Black. She is practicing her white, upper-class accent as she puts the finishing touches on her white “mask” that she is hiding behind.
Who is Neve and Who Did She Leave Behind?
Neve has settled into her new life quite nicely. She is the deputy headmistress at the private school that her children Sebastian (Samuel Small) and Mary (Maria Almeida) both attend. She is active in her community having tea with her white friends and throwing fundraising galas for the underprivileged children of third-world countries. Everything couldn’t be better for Neve, until the facade starts to fade. She starts to catch glimpses of a Black male in her rearview mirror, then as a janitor working in the school hallway, and finally, after seeing him outside their home in the early evening, she is starting to come unglued. We’re not sure if she is losing her mind, or if this is an actual stalker who intends to do her harm. The excrement hits the fan at her backyard fundraiser when Carl and Dione show up and surprise Neve, and she begins to berate the two young people out of a combination of shock and fear.
What Do Carl and Dione Want?
As they take up in a nice area hotel for two weeks, Carl and Dione begin to slide their way into the lives of Neve, her husband Ian (Justin Salinger), and their two kids. Carl/Marvin is the older of the two and is the more focused of the two siblings. Dione/Abi is in her mid-teens and is a little more impetuous and immature. But they both have the same goal, and that is to not only confront the mother who left them when they were just babies but to become firmly ensconced in every facet of her new life. Carl gets a job at the school where Neve works and befriends Sebastian. Dione/Abi gets a job answering phones at Ian’s insurance office and becomes fast friends with young Mary (they even braid hair together). And soon enough, they will make Neve/Cheryl remember who she was and what she left behind because she was ashamed of being poor and Black.
Carl and Dione Arrive for Dinner
The ending of the film is probably the most Peele-esque (if we may use that word) segment of the film. It’s Dione’s birthday and following an afternoon rendezvous where their mother has offered to buy them off with $20,000 to quietly get lost, the two abandoned inner-city kids decide to celebrate it that night with their mom at her nice, spacious suburban home. Only they weren’t invited and didn’t call ahead. This is where you can clearly see the influence of Peele’sUsand Joon-ho’sParasiteas the two invade the home and decide that they’re going to be a part of the family for an indefinite amount of time. Neve and her family are shocked. Unsure of how to react, Neve tries to remain calm while Carl decides that they should all enjoy a little Chinese food and get comfortable. Things get even more eerie and ominous as Neve offers to include Carl and Dione to be part of their “tribe” and join them for a game of Scrabble. The awkward level is off the chart as they slowly take turns playing the whitest board game ever invented. As they are playing, you can hear the sound of a small motorcycle outside as a delivery guy has shown up with their Kung Pow Peking-style food.
The Ending Explained
After the tensest three or four-minute game of Scrabble ever played, Carl suddenly becomes angry and tosses the board while getting to his feet shouting, “I’m bored!” He splashes his way to the kitchen counter because Martello-White decides on adding the noir-ish element of having running water going this entire time, and it has flooded the living room floor. Carl grabs a machete and asks Ian, “How many KGs (kilograms) are you pushing?!” Which is British for, “How much can you bench press, pal?” The two of them head out to the weight room as Carl is still wielding a massive machete. Meanwhile, Neve is tending to the delivery man at the front door. As she returns to the house to get him a tip, you see Ian struggling with the enormous amount of weight Carl has put on the bench press. He continues to struggle until his arms give way and the weight comes crashing down on his throat, crushing his windpipe and immediately killing him.
Carl returns to the foyer where he joins Dione and his half-siblings Sebastian and Mary. Somehow, during the commotion, Neve has slipped out the front door as the four children stand together waiting for her to return. Instead, they hear the sputter of a motorcycle as it begins to leave the house. Neve/Cheryl has taken off with the delivery man and abandoned her kids again. This time it’s all of them. The final shot is of the four children all standing together in stunned silence. They can’t believe what she has done…(again). It’s a not-so-mysterious twist that serves its purpose and punctuates the story of a woman who is a serious flight risk when she starts to lose control.
