Customer Reviews

Half Moon Street [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a fan of the writings of Paul Theroux, I try to watch whatever of his works gets filmed. This film has a good story and a good cast but no big Hollywood hype, so it got overlooked. It was refreshing to see Miss Weaver in another role besides co-starring with the Alien monster. I have never seen a bad Michael Caine film; he's one of those actors for whom there are no small parts. As Lord Bulbeck, a semi-aristocratic British politician, he shows a sense of power and responsibility publicly, while he discretely slips into a romance with Sigorney Weaver's character Dr. Lauren Slaughter. She is a modern intellectual PhD working for a London based Middle Eastern think tank, earning so little money she resorts to hooking on the side. But she is funny, charming and practical in her approach. There is some delightful frontal nudity, perhaps her only appearance like this in film. There is intrigue and political perspective revealed through the many characters with diverse nationalities and agendas. This is a small film which shows the tensions and cultural differences between the Arab and British worlds of business and politics
that have become even more apparent lately. It should be available on DVD and cable.

This movie got soundly trashed when it was released in 1986 but I really liked it for a couple reasons.

The first, I loved the Paul Theroux book on which it's based. In the book, there are actually two stories. The movie takes its story from "Dr. Slaughter." (The other story, "Doctor DeMarr", is about a twin who foolishly resumes his brother's medical practice after finding him dead from a drug overdose).

The second, I had been really wanting to see Sigourney Weaver in a sexy role after battling the ALIEN and evil spirits in GHOSTBUSTERS. (THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, an excellent film from a few years before with Mel Gibson, was romantic(...)). HALF MOON STREET definitely turned more to the erotic and even scratched the surface of sordid.
That's my only disappointment with the film: the corrosive effects of her double-life are played more situational than emotional. She was smart (...) but the film jumps into suspense and intrigue at the point where she would really have to suffer the inner consequences of her lifestyle. Or lifestyles, as it they were.
Theroux's original story manages to capture it in the final line (not an easy thing to do!).

I'd read an interview with Ms. Weaver and she said she'd wished the script had given her character more of a sense of humor. That would've been a great approach! I can see why they'd nix her idea (keep her character SMART!), but she would've come across less smug about being an escort.

If you like intrigue with hints of eroticism--and Michael Caine, who's always great--then this movie is worth watching.

Dr. Lauren Slaughter (Sigourney Weaver), an underpaid political analyst, turns to high-end prostitution in order to make ends meet, thereby encountering an influential British politician, Lord Bulbeck (Michael Caine), who is trying to broker a Middle East peace deal. Before long, she is imperiled by an attempt to assassinate Bulbeck and derail the negotiations.

This implausible film doesn't know what it wants to be. Its best moments are the scenes between Weaver and Caine, but unfortunately there's a lot of nonsense to clutter up the plot. Weaver's character is supposed to be intelligent and worldly, yet she hooks under her own name and appears to be surprised later when her unique choice of sideline costs her some credibility in intellectual circles. In addition, it seems unnecessary for the director/writer Bob Swaim and his co-writer Edward Behr to have made her a prostitute at all. Novelist Paul Theroux may have justified it thematically in the original novel, but on the screen it just plays out as a particularly implausible pretext for her to meet Lord Bulbeck. After spending most of the running time developing this relationship, the film concludes with a cliched 15 minutes or so of uninteresting violence, leaving the affair between the two main characters unresolved.

Half Moon Street in London contains posh flats, many of which belong to prominent Arabs, and is situated near Piccadilly. It is close to Victoria Station, Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus.

Sigourney Weaver arrives in London to work for an Arab-Anglo institute. A brilliant intellectual with a doctorate at Harvard in the field of Chinese economics, having spent a good deal of time in China researching her subject, she is multi-lingual and has a sharp mind for movie details. She is able to readily recite dialogue from scores of films.

The think tank where Weaver works pays so little that she decides to do something daring to enhance her income. She goes to work for an escort service, but on independent terms. Sigourney explains that she will agree to a date at a restaurant, after which it is up to her if she will pursue matters further.

With her excellent pedigree Weaver is a natural to entertain the male economic elite from around the world in this most cosmopolitan of international cities. Her independence is revealed when she coolly tells one Japanese businessman that, despite his confident expectations, she has no desire to augment the evening's activities after dinner.

Weaver learns that the institute where she works is run by an international consortium containing, as one local investment banker tells her, the 5,000 people in international society that "really count."

On one of her eclectic evening excursions Weaver visits the flat of Michael Caine for dinner and prospective good times. A member of the House of Lords, Caine is also an international diplomat who is seeking to broker an international peace agreement between the Israeli and Arab political worlds.

The story ultimately assumes a duality of how Caine can keep the negotiations on track with Weaver caught in the midst of the intrigue. That flat on Half Moon Street that she was able to move into when the wealthy Arab who owned it said he did not need it that point perhaps will come at a stiff price after all. Time will tell.

As the intrigue continues Weaver becomes frustrated when Caine is compelled to break dates with her. When he is unable to keep an appointment in Geneva she is ready to leave him. In the process while in Geneva she has allowed another man to romance her.

In her anxiety to free herself from Caine, has Weaver somehow put herself in harm's way? How will it play out? Will she get back with Caine? Will Caine be able to broker the peace agreement despite possibly serious obstacles?

These are the points that play themselves out in the film.

Seems this one is somewhat unknown, but if you love Siggy, as I do, then it's a must have. Michael Cain plays oposite. She is a high priced call girl (escort) 'cause she can't make enough money at her real job at fellowship for "Middle Eastern Studies" He's a high ranking diplomat and needs some release from his high stress job. Lord Bobeck, or something. He gets his release from Siggy, and almost gets her killed. I don't want to spoil it by telling much more, but I can tell you I have most of Siggy's movies, and while I love 'em all, this is one of my favorites. And......you get to see her nude a lot! None of that in "Gorillas in the Mist" If you can find it, buy it.

Not having read the slim Theroux book first (or any of his stuff), but on a Sigourney Weaver high (Aliens came out the same year) I gave this movie a try. Weaver is the ominously named Dr. Slaughter, a brilliant and beautiful is somewhat depraved expert on the study of petroleum exporting countries in the mideast. Eking out a miserable existence in a London flat cursed with perpetually frozen plumbing, Slaughter leanrs to make ends meet when she becomes a high-priced escort. Her two lives - analyst and call-girl - slowly but surely collide by the end.

Theroux fans would appreciate the difficulty of adapting his work - his deceptively simple prose are underappreciated. The flick radiated ominously when its marketing tone seemed to change while the flick was out - a sure sign that the producers remained unsure of what kind of movie it was. HMS is partly a romance - between Slaughter and one of her clients, a british diplomat who mediates issues between countries Slaughter studies on her day job, and is played by Michael Caine; both of Slaughter's personas are below Caine's character. There is also a thriller subplot - was it any coincidence that Slaughter was first drawn to the company that provides escorts for visiting foreigners?

In either case, the flick is a botch, but it took me years until I finally brought myself to read the book to understand why. Though I love Weaver's work, she is miscast here - she's intelligent and ambitious, but lacks the book-Slaughter's inner gamine, a sort of anything-to-get-by spirit that gives her a subconcious sense of overall superiority that drives the story. The movie Slaughter knows she's smart and attractive - unlike her prose incarnation who knows she's more beautiful than her fellow prostitutes, much smarter and more athletic (the compulsive superiority is a necessary emotional shield Slaughter needs to maintain in order to block out the sexual depravities she's forced to rely on when lacking any other way to afford what she needs.) Depriving Slaughter of that fierce if amoral spirit, the flick plods on, only reaching the book's climax by dinty of running time. A Hollywood ending is the finishing touch on this misfire of an adaption, utterly losing the frenzied twilight-zone finish that made the original's end so poignant. If anything, this flick did kick off my minor but enjoyable flirtation with the novels of Theroux.

Michael Caine plays the part of an English nobleman who hopes to bring about an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Since when did the Palestinians ever want to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors? Never for a moment does the film deal with the unrelenting Jew hatred of the Arabs. And for some reason a number of people desire to murder the Caine character for his efforts. Who and why is left unclear. At best, I guess it has to do with those who presumably manipulate the world's oil prices. Sigourney Weaver has earned a Ph.D. and also sells her sexual favors. One of her clients is the British lord. She is nude countless time throughout the story. Her role makes no sense whatsoever. Weaver plays the part of a libertine who doesn't hesitate to let her own professional colleagues know that she is whoring on the side for extra money. Isn't that a great way to advance one's career? The dialogue is boring. When will this mess be over? I've come to a cynical realization: if a major actress is nude for more than one scene, there is a strongly likelihood that the director is desperate to save the project. Do you like to see Ms. Weaver's bare breasts? If so, Half Moon Street might be worth your time. Other than that, don't waste a moment of your short life span.

David Thomson
Flares into Darkness

Sigourney Weaver in her prime topless. Good acting. Good story. Exciting conclusion. Oh, did I mention Sigourney Weaver topless?

This is a great movie. I had seen it years ago and hadn't thought about it till I started looking up old spy movies.

This is a squeamy little film that nevertheless drew me in, due to the London setting (I'm a big Anglophile), and the star power of Sigourney Weaver and Michael Caine. The story itself is compelling: every woman has at one time or another imagined what it might feel like to seduce men for money, even if she abhors the actual realities of prostitution. With all this star power, an exotic setting (at least for Americans) in the high echelons of the British diplomatic corps, and a sexy thriller plot, the final result should have been a much better film. Even with the big names attached, the production values are distressingly low-budget, giving the film a down-market "TV Movie of the Week" feel, even without its dated 1980s wardrobe. The acting is curiously low-energy and stilted, though whether his is from a bad script or just the general malaise of actors not really wanting to be there, it's hard to tell. Stars of the wattage of Caine and Weaver ought to have made this a whole lot shinier and ramped it up several notches. As it is, they seem to be phoning in their respective performances in an ennui that's odd considering the subject matter. It's not just that this movie is now 22 years old that gives it its stiff and lackluster aura; other thrillers of the same period (1988's 'Frantic', comes to mind) have a much more accomplished and modern feel, and don't wear their age as poorly as this. It's hard to believe that this movie was ever given a theatrical release; at best it could have been an episode of 'Mystery!' and doesn't seem to aspire to more. The thing is that Caine and Weaver are both perfect for their respective roles; too bad this film was too thin to match what they were capable of.