A good movie

Back in the 80’s, not only Lawrence Kasdan had some major success as a screenwriter (he wrote ’The Empire Strikes back’ , ’Return of the Jedi’ and ’Raiders of the Lost Ark’ , not too shabby, ain’t it?), he developed also a solid career as a director and all his movies were acclaimed (’Body Heat’, ‘The Big Chill’ , ‘Silverado’ , ‘The Accidental Tourist’) . However, in the 90’s, his directing efforts were not that impressive and, in my opinion, it all started to go wrong with ‘I Love You to Death’ which was pretty lame. Anyway, his directing debut was a definitely critical and financial success. Indeed, it is a pretty solid néo-noir, almost a remake of ‘Double Indemnity’ (which I still need to watch) and not only did it launch Kasdan’s directing career but also William Hurt and Kathleen Turner (this movie was also her acting debut). So, it was a pretty steamy affair and, personally, I really enjoyed the mood provided by the competent directing. Hurt and Turner were really good as well, they had some great chemistry and after this movie, they would both become major players in Hollywood in the 80’s. Unfortunately, I was still not completely blown away by the whole thing. Indeed, like in most of the néo-noir features I am familiar with, the plot was pretty pedestrian and all the characters were really stereotypical. I know, it is something inherent to the genre but I always find it rather frustrating. Still, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it still remain a really solid erotic thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10