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The best part of this film may not be the story, or the acting, both of which keep you glued to the screen, but the stylish photography and sets.. They look magnificent, mainly the apartment of the the two leads. I was constantly awed by how good this film looks. The DVD transfer is beautiful.
I also prefer the sequel because it has more twists and is complex enough to thoroughly enjoy every 3-4 years. Also fun are the short speeches each character gives on occasion, usually when they smugly think they have the upper hand. Each time that happens, their antagonist winds up going one up on them! There isn't much action in here but when it occurs, it's very intense.
The only thing that annoys me - unfortunately it's a big one - is the ending in which I don't believe justice totally prevailed. I can't wrote much more without spoiling it for those who have not seen this. One of the parties comes out looking like a 'an innocent victim" and that person was hardly a "saint." If all the parties had received just due, it would have been more satisfying and I would have rated this a '5' without hesitation.
In "A Perfect Murder," which Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive") has directed from a screenplay by Patrick Smith Kelly, Douglas is Steven Taylor, a Manhattan-based millionaire industrialist who has over-extended himself while playing the international money markets. Worse, he knows that his most prized possession -- Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow), his radiantly beautiful and conspicuously younger wife -- is drifting out of his jealously tight grip.
Right from the start, the audience knows that Emily is having an affair with David (Viggo Mortensen), a broodingly hunky artist who invites her to his fashionably seedy downtown loft for afternoon delights. Trouble is, Steven also knows about the affair. This, too, is made clear very early in the story, as Steven and Emily share a drink in their luxurious apartment before attending a gallery opening. Despite all their polite chit-chat, there is an edge of menace in the air. When Steven abruptly suggests that she wear another dress to the occasion, his words have the unmistakable sound of a command. Not surprisingly, Emily does as she's told.
At the gallery opening, Steven is effortlessly gracious as his wife introduces him to David, whom she identifies as a casual acquaintance. Of course, he's much more than that -- much more, in fact, than even Emily realizes.
After inviting himself to David's loft, Steven reverts to his natural state. He knows that David is an ex-convict who taught himself to paint in prison -- and, more important, has mastered the art of seducing, then robbing, rich women. Sounding very much like a hard-bargaining businessman, Steven wastes little time in making his pitch: He offers David $500,000 to kill Emily. For a few minutes, David rejects the offer. But the money -- coupled with the threat of exposure -- is too tempting to resist.
It would be difficult to say more about what happens next without running the risk of spilling some beans. Even if you've already seen Hitchcock's 1954 original, or one of the many revivals of Knott's play, you are in for a few surprises. Davis and Kelly treat "Dial M for Murder" more as a source of inspiration than a classic worthy of replication. They take the play's basic set-up -- the husband concocts a tricky murder scheme that hinges on the placement of a latchkey and the ringing of a telephone -- but go off in a different, far more intriguing direction.
Perhaps the most striking difference between Hitchcock's film and Davis' update is the casually amoral cynicism that informs "A Perfect Murder." In the 1954 thriller, the wife's lover was a boyishly buoyant mystery writer, affably played by Robert Cummings, while the wife -- played by Hitchcock's favorite leading lady, Grace Kelly -- was a relatively innocent adulteress who generated sympathy while paying for her sins. Even the cuckolded husband, played by Ray Milland, came across as genial rogue who was motivated by love as much as money.
Welcome to the 1990s: In "A Perfect Murder," the lover is a con man with a gift for blackmail, the husband has lust in his heart for his wife's trust fund, and even the wife is a strong believer in enlightened self-interest. You won't feel excessive sympathy for any of these characters as they hatch their plots and counter-plots. In fact, you may think one of them gets off far too easily in the end. But with the lead roles cast so effectively, and the plot twisting so cleverly, you likely will wind up feeling that, unlike Steven, you've gotten your money's worth.
With Michael Douglas at his sordid best, Gwyneth Paltrow in the middle of her breakout year (doing films such as GREAT EXPECTATIONS--another re-make, SLIDING DOORS, HUSH and finally, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, which resulted in a well-deserved Oscar statue for her) and still-rising Viggo Mortensen, the screenplay by Patrick Smith Kelly fits each of these actors' personas so neatly that you would swear the words were written with these actors fully in mind. Add in the lush photograghy, which successfully captures the deep, brooding tone of the film and you've got a real winner here.
Indoor shots in the townhouse where Douglas and Paltrow's characters live reveal tall ceilings and lots of sharp, sinister brown and orange colors. Shots in Mortensen's artist's loft display soft blue-gray hues and wide spaces filled with work (as opposed to the townhouse which is filled solely with material "things"). The dialogue fits each character and remains true. Even with all the twists and turns in the plot (expected in films like this, anyway), the story remains interesting and does not feel contrived.
It's amazing that Warner Bros. waited a full 5 years after this film's initial release to put it out on DVD. I think the wait was well worth it--both the sound and picture quality on this disc are excellent.
If you have noticed that I have only commented on the technical merits of A PERFECT MURDER and not the story, this is intentional, as the story itself is neatly summed up in one sentence--Douglas is a rich financial wiz who's married to an unhappy Paltrow who is happily cheating on him with Mortensen, uses his street smarts to figure out what's going on and then blackmails Mortensen to off wifey for him. The point in this film is not the story itself; rather, it is about style and the way in which it is presented. A PERFECT MURDER scores big on all counts. Michael Douglas is the main soldifying force in this film--it is impossible to think of an actor better suited for the erotic thriller sub-genre than he is; after all, he starred in the film that defined the erotic thriller, FATAL ATTRACTION. Add A PERFECT MURDER to the list.
Andrew Davis, you directed a very competent film with this outing. Viggo Mortensen, with your determination, hard work and those now-famous cheekbones, you've finally left your Leatherface days behind for good. Gwyneth Paltrow, we can't stop watching you. Michael Douglas, well, we love to hate ya!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
No dislikes with this one.
As for likes and dislikes there are none I can think of except there is an alternate ending and I still have not seen it yet.
