A Perfect Murder

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Wall Street titan Steven Taylor seems like a devoted husband. He isn't. Beautiful Emily Bradford seems like a faithful wife. She isn't. And when Steven hires Emily's lover to kill her, it seems like A Perfect Murder. It isn't. In fact, little is what it seems in this sleek thriller. Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen star in A Perfect Murder, inspired by the play Dial M For Murder, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Fans of that classic wil be in for a lot of surprises. So will Steven. At each unexpected twist in his "perfect" plot, he improvises brilliantly. But can he always stay one step ahead of the next jolt?

FILM REVIEW: There would be little point in comparing this film to the Alfred Hitchcock classic other than to say that aside from the basic premise, they really are two completely different movies. So in this film, which can only loosely be called a remake, we get a very effective thriller with some dramatically strong performances by the three leads, particularly Michael Douglas who plays the bastard so well again (although perhaps not as memorably as he did in "Wall Street" although the character he plays here is remarkably similiar). All of the characters at some level are scheming, even the genuine Gwyneth Paltrow who escapes with a lover whom she thinks wants to make her happy but is in fact a con.
One of the fascinating aspects of this film is that you're never 100% sure where it will go or who is really the bad guy. An example of this is the first confrontation between Michael Douglas and Viggo Mortensen. The scene is deliberately designed to make you feel that Douglas is the victim at the beginning of the scene when he pours out his anger over how Mortensen stole his 'crown jewel'. It goes further when Douglas reveals he did some research on Mortensen's character and found out he had been in jail for being a con. At this point you're thinking that Mortensen is scum but then the scene twists quite sharply when Douglas makes him an offer he can't refuse: to kill his wife for a large sum of money. It turns out Douglas thinks that a former criminal would be a perfect contract killer and Douglas uses this to his advantage by effectively blackmailing Mortensen in to doing it for some devious reason that we don't find out until much later in the film. It adds a layer of complexity to the film that makes you really appreciate not only the story telling but the strong acting on display by the actors involved. Gwyneth Paltrow also gets her chance to shine in scenes like this; for a good portion of the film she seems completely unaware to what's going on around her until she manages to catch out her husband in a strong scene at the end. And kudos to Michael Douglas, he gets to be the instigator of one of the scariest scenes in the film.
Watching the "perfect murder" unravel for Douglas' character is one of the joys of watching this film. His character is such a control freak that you can see the tension building dramatically as each new step makes the situation messier and messier. This leaves room for Mortensen to play Douglas against himself by threatening to tell the world about their plan (as Mortensen arranged for someone else to kill Paltrow). It's one of the strange situations where you feel compelled to keep watching Douglas and almost barracking for him, even though you also feel for Paltrow who is the real victim in all of this.
One of the major differences between the original Hitchcock film and this new version is that it's not bogged down in one location which actually makes the proceedings more visually interesting and entertaining. Mortensen for example is a painter who lives in a large loft, contrasting well with Douglas' high-powered office environment or the luxury condo that both he and Paltrow live in. Although Hitchcock wanted to represent the original play faithfully on the screen but not changing it, this addition of multiple locations certainly is a bonus. On the flip side, Douglas is essentially playing a more ruthless and less smirky version of Gordon Gecko from "Wall Street", right down to his business interests, financial setup, office, and the lengths he will go to to win. Perhaps something different could have been done there but it's not really a big thing.
This is a highly entertaining film that will keep you guessing right until the end.

 TECHNICAL REVIEW: Unusually, this disc has been given two transfers. One to suit 4x3 square televisions and the other is a replication of the original theatrical aspect ratio which will suit widescreen televisions, with each transfer taking up one side of the disc (ie a flipper disc). Both have been given a decent transfer although there are some film scratches and artefacts evident while you watch it. The audio is also well produced, particularly in a few scare moments which will have you jumping out of your seat. A reasonably well produced disc, although the idea of using a flipper disc is somewhat annoying (and to be perfectly honest, a 4x3 pan and scan transfer is unnecessary).

EXTRAS REVIEW: This DVD contains two very good audio commentaries, featuring the director Andrew Davis and Michael Douglas, as well as the crew. They contain some good insights in to the production, how they differentiated it from the Hitchcock classic and more. It almost makes up for the lack of a documentary. Probably the most interesting extra is the alternate ending which makes Gwyneth Paltrow's character out to be very cold-blooded in her final dispatching of her husband, and thus she ends up carrying out the Perfect Murder. The scene was dropped in favour of a more noble end to her character and makes for a fascinating insight in to how film's can be changed during the course of production. There are also numerous subtitles and an Italian and French language track. Altogether not too bad.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.

FILM RATING: 8/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 6/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 7/10 

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net