PAUL VERHOEVEN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BB.5

USA/France, 1992.  Carolco Pictures, Canal+.  Screenplay by Joe Eszterhas.  Cinematography by Jan de Bont.  Produced by Alan Marshall.  Music by Jerry Goldsmith.  Production Design by Terence Marsh.  Costume Design by Ellen Mirojnick.  Film Editing by Frank J. Urioste.  

Sharon Stone is so fantastic she makes a trashy film almost respectable, playing a femme fatale mystery writer who is the prime suspect when a rock star is murdered in bed with an ice pick. Michael Douglas plays the cop investigating the crime who can’t resist becoming sexually involved with her, and who could?  She can deliver the coldest dialogue without blinking an eye, and then have wild sex without mussing a single strand of her hair.

It threatens to be good fun, spicing up its procedural moments with scenes of sexuality that earned it a lot of attention at the time, but every time Douglas blows up at another cop just to create dramatic tension it reveals itself as an inane potboiler that is only a cut above the many imitators to follow.  The only part worth cherishing is Sharon dancing at a nightclub in that fabulous gold dress.  The brilliant Jeanne Tripplehorn makes a terrible debut with her performance as the good girl on the side (or is she?)

Academy Award Nominations:  Best Film Editing; Best Original Score

Cannes Film Festival:  In Competition

Golden Globe Award Nomination:  Best Actress-Drama (Sharon Stone); Best Original Score