Product Details

• Actors: Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey, Gabriel Byrne, Laurie Metcalf, John Terry
• Directors: Stephen Gyllenhaal
• Writers: Naomi Foner, Mary McGarry Morris
• Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Naomi Foner, Patricia Whitcher
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 14, 1995
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303072380
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,782 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

As Martha, the dim-witted, shortsighted heroine of Stephen Gyllenhaal's picture, Debra Winger pulls out all the stops, but you can't help wishing she'd push a few back in. The cunning intensity of her playing is almost embarrassing, and it certainly lacks support; the rest of the movie drags sullenly behind, and the other characters harden into stereotypes, Gabriel Byrne's blue-eyed drinker being the worst offender. As he did in "Paris Trout," Gyllenhaal tries to build up dramatic pressure by keeping a lid on the tension, but he forgets to take it off. You keep waiting for the film to explode, as Martha's stubborn ways pull her toward disaster, but it stays marshy and joyless. Only David Strathairn-miscast as a sleazeball, but still as watchable as ever-gets the action moving; he and Winger share one bloody and breathless scene that puts the rest of the movie to shame. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gabriel Byrne is the fox in the henhouse, November 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dangerous Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Although this movie is a little muddled, I still liked its tale of two--or really, three--lonely people.

This story raises the question: what happens when a mentally disabled woman (or man) has the same sexual desires as any other healthy adult? What happens when she desires a man who is "normal"? Martha's disability separates her from others in many ways, including the kind of romantic life that others take for granted. When Mac shows up on the doorstep, she discovers romantic and sexual feelings, and wants to express them as anyone else would. The others around her, especially her aunt, don't want this, perhaps even with good reason, but the movie sticks up poignantly for her right to blossom, including her right to be a sexual being.

However, there is a built in dilemma here. Martha can never be an appropriate partner for a "normal" man, so the relationship is doomed from the start. And Martha has no framework for understanding the impact of sexuality or rejection. Mac and Martha share a bond, but Frances, the aunt, is Mac's equal, and they too share the bond of being lonely people scarred by life. When they begin an affair, and Martha meets with the inevitable rejection, tragedy results.

The movie does wrap things up neatly--it's a movie, after all--and perhaps a little too patly, but on the whole I preferred the happier ending.

I was impressed with all performances here. Winger submerges herself completely in the character of Martha. Gabriel Byrne manages the tricky feat of making Mac sympathic, but repulsive at times, and keeping him sympathetic even when his carelessness has had such horrible results. I also thought he had good rapport with both actresses. His relationship with each was different, and both were watchable. Barbara Hershey has a smaller role than Winger, but I thought she did a good job, though I didn't know why her character had to be quite so insensitive to Martha.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Truth-Teller in a World of Liars, July 20, 2000

By 

Anthony Damato "Law professor" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dangerous Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is more of a visual essay than a movie that one can sit back and enjoy. The question is: what happens to a young woman who always tells the truth? The answer: in an evil world, she is hurt, betrayed, kicked around, loses her friends, and winds up in prison. Debra Winger makes the role believable, and that's not easy to do. There are also things that happen "around" the Winger character that she doesn't quite see, and we the audience don't quite see either, so we're taken by surprise. The director almost pulled this one off. The two reviewers before me hated the movie, and I can see why. But maybe to a large extent they were thrown off by their expectations. The title, for instance, is ironic -- but who could have guessed that? (She's a dangerous woman in an evil world because she's a truth-teller.) The movie meanders; it's not the plot-rich kind of movie people want, nor is it a thriller, nor a suspenser; in short, it's a philosophical essay dressed up in movie clothes. And if that's all you expect, then it may be worth seeing. My two-star rating is pretty high for a cheapskate star-giver like me, and it's almost the kind of grade you give to a student who has written an essay that didn't come off but was the most ambitious essay in thc class: Two stars for a good try!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing muddle, May 10, 2000

By 

Dave Hillman (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerous Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Being a huge fan of the Gyllenhaal/Hershey collaboration "A Killing in a Small Town" (aka "Evidence of Love"), I had very high expectations for this, especially with Debra Winger in the cast. Alas, 'twas not to be. This is a meandering slog of a movie, with an ending that'll make you throw up your hands in exasperation for wasting two hours of your life. Winger's performance could not be bettered; curiously, Hershey (who deservedly won an Emmy for "Killing in a Small Town") has very little to do. Take a pass unless you're a huge fan of the stars.