Synopsis
Deceptive passion... Malicious seduction.
A reporter sent to cover a murder trial discovers a web of deceit stemming from a torrid affair.
2000 Directed by Kikuo Kawasaki
A reporter sent to cover a murder trial discovers a web of deceit stemming from a torrid affair.
This is basically a Lifetime movie with Dennis Hopper. Picture him entering into a sexual relationship with Marley Shelton despite zero chemistry - disturbing.
2022 #332
Haha! What a ridiculous thriller, hinging on a milquetoast male character having a weird sex kink where he faints during the act providing the alibi for a black widow murderer. Needless to say, this is in no way, shape or form very good, but I found it amusing at least!
Imagine if you will a Lifetime version of Diabolique and somehow get Dennis Hopper to star in it. That's about all this has going for it. The young Femme Fatale is very pretty but also extremely bland and the young man who gets caught up in her schemes is just plain bland. Talia Shire plays the desperate cuckolded wife but spends most of her time gasping for air. The whole thing is pretty dull and shoddy but Dennis has a nice moment or two because, well, Dennis.
Holy shit, what a crazy cast: Dennis Hopper, Marley Shelton, fucking Brian Krakow from MY SO-CALLED LIFE, Cheri Oteri, and Talia Shire. Filmed on location in Kosciusko, Mississippi (as well as in Los Angeles and Phoenix) in 1997, though it wasn’t released until 2000. Not bad. A lightweight B neo-noir that borrows the plot of DIABOLIQUE and has some little touches of weirdness: Hopper coming through Shelton’s window with a big clunky CD player as a gift; Krakow’s character fainting during sex; Shelton sitting sweaty in front of a cheap little fan while a sax plays; Hopper calling God a “prickless shit”; that crazy-ass judge at the end. Hopper asks Krakow “So, did you fuck her?” at one point, and it feels like some kind of peak nineties shit. I’m tired and still wrapping my head around the fact that this exists.
Growing up, I never related to a character more than Brian Krakow in MY SO-CALLED LIFE. Who knew that the actor who played him, Devon Gummersall, would become the LEAD of an erotic thriller a few years later?
You know who else is in this movie? Talia Shire.
You know who else is in this movie? Cheri Oteri, in a dramatic turn.
Gotta say, Amazon's algorithm really gets me. Out of every single movie on their platform, THIS was first up on my "recommended for you" list.
Some of the Hopper lines were ok but I didn't sign up for Brian Krakow: The Court Procedural Movie. So woefully pointless and aimless...
"God's nothing but a prickless shit! [Laughs]"
A shame there wasn't more of thecwild OTT stuff tbh. First 20 mins and then the scenes - but strictly only those bits - with Potter giving it a bafflingly good go make it worth a schlocky watch overall. If Potter was your guy this would be a joyous find as he's properly into it and plays it like this is a good leading gig. If his "availability" didn't seem to vanish about two thirds in this would have helped a lot. The courtroom final act sags hugely without his involvement.
Extra half for his Undetaker eyes & 'sit up from the dead' routine, dressed in a suit, in a bath.
Stopped paying attention after about twenty minutes. I do not know how to feel about seeing sweaty Dennis Hopper on top of Marley Shelton. Never mind: I feel shame. Immense shame.
painful to see someone living the life you dream😔☝️,,, except for the murder part ya know