director sidney lumet be no hack his resume include classic such a the pawnbroker and serpico and dog day afternoon and and network . but every artist be entitle to the occasional misstep and and at least a stranger among u be more an interesting failure than the outright disaster the wiz be . lumet be deal with a number of problem here and first and foremost among them a meander script that can not quite decide what it main storyline should be . ostensibly a crime drama center on the murder of a merchant in manhattan diamond district ( the stretch of 47th street between 5th and 6th avenue ) and it persist in wander off in two other direction brooklyn hassidim community and it age old tradition and and the threat of forbidden love between one of it member and the detective assign to the case . while the scene involve the religious ritual and custom add nothing to the plot and they at least be interesting and informative about a culture foreign to most viewer . less compelling be those moment involve ariel and emily of the nypd and since their interest in each other strain credulity and not only because their background make it unlikely and but due to the lack of any chemistry between eric thal and melanie griffith . griffith be lumet other major problem here . no doubt she be cast because at the time she be still hollywood flavor of the month and but we be ask to suspend disbelief and accept her not only a a new york police officer and but a one who would be select to go undercover and infiltrate the jewish community and live with them a one of their own . die her blonde lock brown do nothing to make griffith less the shiksa ( gentile woman ) than she obviously be and and it unlikely anyone in crown height would have mistake her for anything but . yet oddly enough although plainly she out of her element and the fish out of water aspect of the story just do not work . by the time whodunit be reveal and you may not care who be responsible for the nearly forget crime lose in a jumble of sub plot but give it a moment or two of thought and you will wonder how the victim body could have be hide where it be by the person implausibly identify a the killer . it a plot twist that just isn not quite forgive the pun kosher . the actor cast a the elder jew and the atmosphere in which they live and worship add an air of authenticity that miss from any of the scene involve police procedure . lee richardson be impressive a the rebbe who and despite his misgiving and must welcome the street smart female cop into his home . john pankow and mia sara and and jamey sheridan do well in their small supporting role and and james gandolfini make an appearance a a thug in a foreshadowing of his career a tony soprano and but eric thal be saddle with the almost impossible task of make u believe he would forsake his strong religious belief and dedication to kabbalah for the hard talk and gun tot griffith . despite it many flaw and a stranger among u be one of those film that make a long flight and rainy day and or dateless friday night easy to endure . a a lumet credit and it a far cry from serpico and but a hell of a lot good than the wiz .