Perfect Stranger

Directed by: James Foley

Starring: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi

Run time: 109 minutes

Rated: R

Rating: 1 1/2 gus heads

Halle Berry needs a new agent.

Aside from “Monster’s Ball,” for which Berry won an Oscar for best leading actress, most fans are hard-pressed to remember the last legitimately good film she’s appeared in. Berry’s latest, the lukewarm, labyrinth-like “Perfect Stranger,” is one bad thriller clich� after another without the benefit of a satisfying payoff.

In the film, Berry plays a well-coiffed, impeccably lit tabloid newspaper reporter named Rowena who has a penchant for busting powerful politicians. Because of her ethically questionable tactics, Rowena publishes under the name David Shane to avoid messy confrontation and, presumably, litigation for entrapment and illegal recording of conversations. This initial lie in the opening reel of “Perfect Stranger” sets the tone for a film built solely on deceit, too many red herrings, a few MacGuffins and the idea that confusion can be substituted for actual suspense or intrigue.

Rowena finds her next Pulitzer-worthy story after running into her old friend Grace, who is in town visiting shady but charismatic advertising magnate Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis). When Grace winds up dead the next day, Rowena begins hatching a plan to investigate what she suspects to be Hill’s involvement in the murder. Rowena is aided by her tech-savvy, computer geek cohort Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), who helps Rowena gain a temp position with Hill’s agency. Rowena is then quickly pulled into Hill’s world of deceit and foul play.

Throughout “Perfect Stranger,” no character is who he or she pretends to be. Every action is a red herring and it’s never quite clear who is lying and who is telling the truth. Instead of creating mood, suspense or interest, director James Foley piles confusing, underdeveloped detail on top of confusing, unexplained detail.

By the time “Perfect Stranger” unravels its final twists, it’s hard to remain interested in the film’s half-baked ending.

It’s as though Foley and company produced the film simply as an excuse to dress up Berry in various slinky outfits and cash in on lucrative product placement opportunities. While much of the film’s plot and character motivations remain confusing, it’s clear from shot after superfluous shot that Berry uses a Sony Via computer and that Hill’s firm has contracts with Victoria’s Secret, Reebok and Heineken. While it’s common knowledge that studios are paid for product placement, “Perfect Stranger” is often more commercial than film.

It’s a shame, too, because the talents of both Berry and Willis are largely wasted here. Willis is building the latter half of his career on the idea that he’ll play anyone for a price, but there’s absolutely no reason Berry has to settle for the same mediocre, underdeveloped roles.