The Strays

A Black woman (Ashley Madekwe) experiences difficulty in THE STRAYS as a result of institutionalised racism and marginalisation. She departs from there in ...

The Strays starts off promising but ends up heading in a really bizarre, trivial way. The film takes great pleasure in making you feel disoriented and completely absorbed as a result of the storyline changes. The suspense in the film increases to nearly unbearable levels when everyone is gathered together for the astounding climax. Before we have time to process the section's dramatic revelation, the movie shifts to a more coming-of-age vibe in the second half. In the opening scene of "Neve," Neve is stalked by beings that are just out of sight, but are they actually there? Neve (Ashley Madekwe), the mother in the Netflix movie "The Strays," appears to be leading a charmed life in the suburbs with her husband and two kids.

Netflix The Strays' Ashley Madekwe: “There's a lot of pressure for women to be defined by motherhood”. The actor talks race, afro hair and thrillers.

But I think that there’s been a shift in that people are more open to having the conversation and there are more people of colour working in those departments, which is really important. And we’re told what hair is professional and what hair is is considered groomed and what hair is considered beautiful. The Silence Of The Lambs is one of my favourite horror films. It seemed like a commentary on the ways that hair is politicised. I think the past is the monster for Neve, the entities she’s seeing in the first act are the monsters. And nobody makes what I think is a sound choice in the film. There’s a line where Neve says, “I did what fathers do all the time.” And I think it’s interesting because we do look at it differently when men leave behind a family. [Horrors](https://www.stylist.co.uk/tag/Horror) – which is one of many genres this film sits in – typically have a monster at the heart. I think that there’s a lot of pressure for women to be defined by motherhood: that the most important thing a woman can do is have a baby. I think the monster changes depending on the act and perspective. Also starring Bukky Bakray (Rocks) and Jorden Myrie, this is a powerful debut film from writer-director Nathaniel Martello-White about the inescapable scars differences of class and Ashley Madekwe (County Lines, Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, Revenge) stars as Neve, who abandons a difficult life in east London for an almost idyllic life in the suburbs as a mum, wife and deputy headteacher – “You’re practically one of us,” says one of the mums from school.

Nathaniel Martello-White's feature debut The Strays is a social thriller that lacks bite, discipline, and a third act. When the film abruptly ended, I.

The Strays might come from a place of impossible angst about everything from assimilation to self-hatred, but concludes with all the grace of an Irish exit on St. Neve’s behavioral commentary on “passing,” class mobility, and serving yourself over others provides a situation ripe for social investigation, but Martello-White’s third act tosses kerosene on expanding themes and dares the audience to figure it all out. A film built on obvious secrets divides itself into three acts, the first two of which — one about “Current Neve,” the second about Marvin and Abigail — are expositional to a sluggish fault. The introduction of Marvin (Jorden Myrie) and Abigail (Bukky Bakray) is so emotionally weighted, only to abandon character development in favor of a third-act horror bend. Martello-White toys with haunted visions and break-in foreshadowing with minimal degrees of intensity in an attempt to hone on Neve’s house of cards tumbling down at the slightest gust. Ashley Madekwe leads as a complicated housewife everyone knows as Neve, a light-skinned Black woman who embraces wigs, makeup applications, and the comforts of white suburbia.

Netflix's latest thriller The Strays follows a woman named Neve (Ashley Madekwe) who lives in Castle Combe with her family. She seems to have it all with her ...

She's done the same thing to her new family, and the film ends with the four children standing in the corridor, adding to Neve's list of abandoned family members. This happens off-screen but it's assumed she told the driver she was in danger, but refused to acknowledge Sebastian and Mary. However, Neve tries to brush this under the carpet when she meets them at a local cafe, and apologises for leaving them behind. Soon after, the food arrives and Neve answers the door, where she's greeted by a motorcycle driver. Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. The duo become increasingly more erratic and violent, and attempts to stop them prove to be futile. However, it's not over yet, as Carl and Dione return to Neve's home late at night and steal everyone's phones, flooding them with water in the kitchen sink and rendering them useless. No one in the local community knows that though and she's keen to keep her past behind her. As soon as they arrive on the scene, Neve screams at them, demanding them to leave her alone. They seem to be happy with this, thanking her for the money, before they go their separate ways. She hasn't always had the easiest life, in fact, she used to be in an abusive relationship and struggled to make ends meet despite being a successful saleswoman and winning awards. She seems to have it all with her nice house, luxury car and designer wardrobe, but she's hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her perfect life.

Directed by Nathaniel Martello-White, we review the 2023 Netflix film The Strays, which does not contain spoilers.

Overall, The Strays is a worthwhile thriller. The rest of the cast did a great job, particularly Jorden Myrie as Marvin. There’s one scene where Marvin confronts her in the school’s bathroom, and the way it plays out makes it unclear if it happened or if she had a psychotic episode. A constant uneasiness in the background kept me at the edge of my seat for the entire runtime. Everything about Neve, apart from her skin color, screams upper-class white woman – her accent, the car she drives, the perfectly manicured wigs she wears, and even the gala she puts together to raise money for “unfortunate individuals” in Africa. [Ashley Madekwe](https://readysteadycut.com/person/Ashley-Madekwe/)), venting to her sister about her financial struggles.

The psychological horror thriller had us gripped the whole way through. But you may have some unersolved questions. Here's The Strays ending explained.

The Strays starring Ashley Madekwe is now streaming on Netflix. What is the Netflix thriller film about? We shared the synopsis and more here.

Given what the movie is about, this maturity rating seems appropriate. Cheryl/Neve has worked hard to hide her background and strives to live a picture-perfect life. Initially, the story is set in the year of 2003. He made his feature film debut with this movie and wrote the screenplay. So, she decides to run away from her problems to seek a better life. Also, if you enjoy movies like Get Out and Us, this film will be right up your alley as well.

We discuss the ending of the 2023 Netflix film The Strays, which will contain significant spoilers and plot points.

And the ending shows she never cared for Sebastian and Mary any more than she did for Marvin and Abigail when she first walked out on them. Yet, Marvin takes the check and thanks her for it, giving Neve a false sense of security as she now thinks her troubles are over and she can return to her real family. After the gala spectacle, Neve asks to meet with Abigail and Marvin, where she briefly apologizes for abandoning them before giving them a check for £20,000 to help them “get back on their feet” and, of course, go back to London. Throughout the runtime, Neve treats her two children with Ian as extensions of the perfectly posh life she’s built. The movie ends with the four siblings looking out the window as their mother abandons them. Neve then walks out the door without looking back, mirroring the film’s first scene when she leaves her previous life. Upon entering the home, Abigail runs a bath while her brother puts on a fancy bathrobe he got from their hotel and turns the telly on. When Marvin returns to the living room and realizes she’s gone, it’s too late. [The Strays](https://readysteadycut.com/2023/02/23/the-strays-review/) opens with the protagonist, Cheryl (played by [Ashley Madekwe](https://readysteadycut.com/person/Ashley-Madekwe/)), venting to her sister about her financial struggles. Neve’s paranoia over these two people grows to terrifying levels – she sees them everywhere, thinks they’re out to get her, and has bizarre, even violent outbursts in front of her husband, children, and friends. Everything about Neve, apart from her skin color, screams upper-class white woman – her accent, the car she drives, the perfectly manicured wigs she wears, and even the gala she puts together to raise money for “unfortunate individuals” in Africa. It’s clear how hard she works to belong when we see her practicing her accent in the mirror.