PHIL JOANOU
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.
USA, 1992. Warner Bros., Witt/Thomas Productions, Roven-Cavallo Entertainment. Story by Robert Berger, Wesley Strick, Screenplay by Wesley Strick. Cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth. Produced by Paul Junger Witt, Charles Roven, Tony Thomas. Music by George Fenton. Production Design by Dean Tavoularis. Costume Design by Aude Bronson-Howard. Film Editing by Thom Noble.
Tepid thriller that goes far past the climax point, with director Phil Joanou failing to indulge in the opportunity to campily recreate the conventions of Hitchcockian storytelling. Kim Basinger is excellent as the femme fatale who enters the life of a shy, quiet and (you guessed it) squinty-eyed psychiatrist (Richard Gere) who is treating her severely disturbed and insecure sister (Uma Thurman). When Gere starts an affair with Basinger he has no idea what he’s getting himself into, but she does. Eric Roberts is adorably hammy as Basinger’s domineering and brutish gangster husband, but he’s SO evil it makes you wonder why the heroine should be punished for the fate that eventually befalls him (at least in Double Indemnity the husband seemed like an okay guy). Stylish photography by Jordan Cronenweth and a Bernard Herrmann-inspired score by George Fenton are pluses, but there’s too much meandering before the script ever gets to the juicy parts of the story. Further proof that Basinger is an excellent actress who has always deserved much better material than what she has to work with.
