A Perfect Murder Review
by Craig Roush (kinnopio AT execpc DOT com)July 15th, 1998
A PERFECT MURDER
Release Date: June 5, 1998
Starring: Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, David Suchet, Sarita Choudhury
Directed by: Andrew Davis
Distributed by: Warner Brothers
MPAA Rating: R (violence, sexuality, language)
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/perfect.htm
The suspense genre, which has been decidedly absent of quality movies since last year's THE GAME, comes back to life here in a thrilling recreation of Alfred Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER. It is to some degree of wonder that Michael Douglas, who had the lead role in the 1997 thriller, comes back to command the genre again. Whether it's his involvement, or the able direction of Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE), there's a lot about A PERFECT MURDER that goes right, making this movie a top-of-the-line suspense thriller.
Michael Douglas is once again a successful businessman, this time named Steven Taylor. He's got a trophy wife, Emily Bradford (Gwyneth Paltrow, Great Expectations), who works for the United Nations. Unfortunately for Steven, though, Emily has an artist lover named David Shaw (Viggo Mortensen, G.I. Jane). Once Steven finds out, though, it's no big deal - under the guise of looking to buy some art pieces, he travels to David's downtown loft and confronts him about it. Ultimately, he makes David - an almost penniless man - an offer he can't refuse: five hundred thousand dollars to kill his wife.
The movie takes off from there as an intense character battle between three different characters. Steven, icily intense and incredibly wild, is easily the best of the three, done by Michael Douglas in outstanding fashion. David and Emily both pale in comparison, although David is slightly better simply for the devil-may-care attitude that Viggo Mortensen brings to him. Finally, Gwyneth Paltrow does the least amount of truly suspenseful acting; her character is left to walk around like a doe in a shooting gallery. What makes the conflict even more exciting is the fact that both Steven and Emily also have financial gains to make: Steven's a lucrative businessman, so obviously he's loaded, and Emily has one hundred million dollars in inheritance that lands in the lap of whatever man she dies while married to. As Sarita Choudhury (playing Raquel, Emily's friend) says in the movie, "Money is the oldest reason in the world to kill someone."
The music is also in fine form here, scored by James Newton Howard. It picks up and moves to a crescendo to emphasize character emotions, and in general increases the suspense level by several notches. This is more than adaquate proof of Andrew Davis' skill at directing a suspense film; but also of note are the way he combines the script with cinematography to provide a sensationally tense atmosphere. A PERFECT MURDER may not fare well in the box office against more flamboyant summer films, but it is a truly enjoyable film throughout and a definite must-see. Suspense fans, this one's for you.
FINAL AWARD FOR "A PERFECT MURDER": 3.0 stars - a good movie.
--
Craig Roush
[email protected]
--
Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
