Stray

Placing among the upper ranks of films for dog lovers, Stray successfully takes this mission to heart, revealing in the process not only the wholesomeness of humans’ four-legged best friends, but also the soulful voice of an exciting new filmmaker with immense moral queries on her mind.

An interesting, original concept combined with solid acting and creative directing propel “Stray” and keep its audience invested throughout its tidy 81-minute run-time.

The problem with Stray is that it doesn’t ever connect with the audience, with the exception of Murphy’s back story. The mystery just unfolds, and we as the audience never engage in the mental exercise of piecing clues together and finding an answer.

Stray falters in the narrative department but looks good and holds interest.

The performances are first rate; besides Woods' solid turn as the emotionally scarred cop, Fukuhara is movingly vulnerable as the frightened Nori and Miyavi takes full advantage of his natural pop star charisma as the long-haired young man who holds the key to the mystery.