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A lot of people dislike To Die For. The film's detractors largely find fault with its tone and subject matter. It is really the epitome of black comedy, and anyone expecting either pure comedy or pure suspense will be very disappointed.

That said, To Die For deserves a place in film history as one of the sharpest satires of television and fame, ranking alongside films such as Network. Forgive the cliche, but Nicole Kidman's performance is truly a revelation -- she shows talents that were clearly invisible in earlier travesties such as Far & Away and are only now beginning to resurface. But the real discovery in this film is the magnificent Illeana Douglass. It is scandalous that few people mention her amazing work when discussing To Die For. If for nothing else, the film should be seen for the work of Kidman and Douglass. (Note also that To Die For has one of Joaquin Phoenix's earliest roles.)

As other commentators here have suggested, you are not guaranteed to love this film. Nonetheless, as far as I'm concerned, it's required viewing if you're a film fan.

While Gus Van Sant's mockumentary approach does not always work great with Buck Henry's expertly sharp and funny screenplay, 'To Die For' is held together by a brilliant Nicole Kidman performance. Kidman - with her divine looks and devilish smiles - owns every second of this picture that even when she isn't on screen her presence is felt. Kidman is surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast, from Matt Dillon to Joaquin Phoenix to Illeana Douglas to Casey Affleck, giving memorable performances in their own right

This is black comedy at its finest,a wonderfully incisive film.I've seen it many times and it gets better with every viewing.This is one of Gus Van Sants best films,right up there with Drugstore Cowboy.This was the film that proved Nicole Kidman was a force to be reckoned with.Its a brutally good part,and she doesn't waste it.Giving a genuinely unhinged performance,as well as a jaw droppingly sexy one.The performances are all excellent though,Dillon plays the poor dumb schmuck who doesen't know what he's let himself in for with ease.Joaquin Phoenix is great as probably the dimmest character in movie history!Best of all is Illeana Douglas as Dillons wonderfully cynical sister."What did i first think of her?-Four letters beginning with 'c',you know......cold!" This is beautifully put together using mock docu footage,flashbacks,and straight filmaking.Clever,intelligent,and razor sharp,films like this are all to rare.Look out for director David Cronenberg,in a wickedly good cameo!

Suzanne Stone Maretto (Nicole Kidman) is a TV weathergirl and an infamous tabloid sensation suspected of enticing teenagers Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix), Lydia Mertz (Alison Folland) and Russel Hines (Casey Affleck) to kill her husband Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon). She is driven and would stop at nothing to achieve fame. His sister Janice (Illeana Douglas) didn't like cold Suzanne from the start.

It has the noir style with characters doing interviews with the camera. Director Gus Van Sant has more style than a simple narrative. Talking directly into the camera adds to this dark comedy. It is the performance of Nicole Kidman that is the most interesting. She can be sweet and innocent in one moment. Then she's manipulative and ambitious the next. She delivers one of her best performances ever. It is a dark indictment of the modern obsession for fame.

In Little Hope, New Hampshire, the beautiful and hot Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) wants to be famous and is an aspiring TV personality. She marries Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), whose father owns a restaurant, and convinces him to use this savings for the university buying a Mustang for her and a condo. Then she accepts to work for the local station receiving minimum wage to develop her own projects, including one with youths in a public school. She meets the punks Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix), Russel Hines (Casey Affleck) and Lydia Mertz (Alison Folland) and records hours of tapes interviewing them. When Larry invites her to work at the restaurant in a talent show that he wants to implement, Suzanne sees a threat to her planned career and decides to get rid of her husband. She seduces Jimmy and convinces him that she is in love with him. Then she tells that Larry is a brutal man and Jummy decides to kill him. What will happen to Larry?

"To Die For" is a great tale of ambition and manipulation. Gus Van Sant uses the documentary style to show a beautiful and sexy woman that uses her limited intelligence and her body to reach what she has planned for her career. The cast has great performance and Nicole Kidman is perfect in the role of Suzanne Stone. The screenplay has a sort of black humor and the conclusion is ironical. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Sonho Sem Limites" ("A Dream Without Limits")

Note: On 19 March 2025, I saw this film again.

Six years after Dead Calm, Nicole Kidman gets serious in To Die For, directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Buck Henry. The movie is also a meditation on news reporter celebrities and making it big from the local news stations to the networks for sure. It's not a perfect movie but still, Nicole Kidman chews the screen.

I came for Joaquin Phoenix, and stayed for Nicole Kidman. Not gonna lie.

I know that there aren't all that many people who enjoy it, but I really like dark comedies a lot. I guess it's the fact that things like a murder are so serious and repelling, that many people believe you shouldn't laugh with it or make jokes about it, but when done in a proper way, this can be excellent cinema (think of the Danish movie "De Grønne slagtere" aka "The Green Butchers" for instance).

However, this time the movie isn't about butchers, but about a woman who will do anything to reach her goal: becoming a famous TV personality. Really nothing will stop her from getting in the spotlights and certainly not her husband... She's cold and tough to get rid of and will persist until she finally gets what she wants, even if that means that people have to die for it.

I really liked the story and I was pleasantly surprised by some actors. I never thought Nicole Kidman could play the role of Suzanne Stone in such a convincing way. She was really excellent as the hard and cold and not very intelligent woman, but also Matt Dillon did a very nice job playing her husband. Next to the acting and the story, I also liked the humor. Normally, all present comedies seem to have only one common theme: farting, vomiting and all other kinds of toilet humor and I really don't like that. So when finally seeing a comedy that didn't use that kind of jokes, I was already very pleased. And perhaps this dark humor is exactly the reason why not many people will like it, but personally I did and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.

Nicole Kidman hit an early career-high with her riveting portrayal of a self-obsessed suburban nutcase who has big dreams of finding fame and fortune, even at the expense of her husband. Icy, satirical black comedy, adapted from Joyce Maynard's book by Buck Henry, begins strongly, though Gus Van Sant directs in his usual cobbled-together fashion (Van Sant uses hoary quasi-documentary devices to propel the story, and these artifices--flashbacks and direct-to-the-camera nods--do grow tiresome). Henry's screenplay is amusing, the supporting cast is solid, and Kidman is intensely watchable. **1/2 from ****

In TO DIE FOR, Suzanne Stone (the glorious Nicole Kidman) is an ultra-ambitious, wannabe media megastar. This takes a certain type of person without fear, heart, or conscience. Stone puts her soulless tendencies to work, building her TV career by any means necessary.

Suzanne is driven to be in reality what she's always been in her own blank mind. She will be famous no matter what it takes. This includes relentless self-promotion and the murder of her impossibly clueless husband (Matt Dillon).

Ms. Kidman plays Suzanne Stone with gusto as an empty shell with a magnificent paintjob. She slithers and slinks along, manipulating the foolish (including a wonderful trio of lunkheads played by Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, and Alison Folland) and living only to be noticed.

This is a fantastic black comedy about the hollowness of celebrity and those who achieve it...

I recalled this movie and what came to mind was the attention given to Kidman's performance. Based on that and Van Sant's direction, I thought I would finally check it out. I agree, Kidman does give a solid performance, practically carries the film. There are however mostly strong performances from the entire cast as well. There's a bit of humor here, nothing all that funny really, but touches of humor exist. Despite all the positives the results are fairly flat and nothing really is as dark or funny or engaging as I think Van Sant hoped for. Not a bad film but not a must see either.

Entertaining. Nicole Kidman is excellent as the v pretty, tight clothes wearing, zealous sociopath who cons Matt Dillon into marrying her.

Based on a true story. It is entertaining if you want to see Kidman w perfect hair, make up, and tight clothes.

She is an uneducated, small town girl that wants out of her situation. And needs to use everyone along the way. Matt Dillon is a fool who falls in lust and marries her. His family sees the truth.

It is a little like "Fatal Attraction". People are not really as they appear. Even attractive people can be evil.

Matt Damon comes from a traditional Italian family. His dad is v strict and possessive. Do not cross his dad. Will Nicole Kidman's character heed the warning?

Joaquin Phoenix plays a teenage student who falls for her also.

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nicole Kidman's character is like a candy that is deceivingly hard, sweet, and delicious on the outside but filled w arsenic.

I'm a little hesitant with my rating of 8 because this isn't really a film to be taken too seriously; having said that, I was glued to the screen and it holds up to repeat viewings so that says a lot.

It's peculiar that the closing credits of this film bear the usual disclaimer that "any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental" when the film is in fact the story of New Hampshire school teacher Pamela Smart, who did indeed co hearse a teenage student into murdering her husband in pretty much the exact same manner as depicted here. Writer Buck Henry has changed the characters name, occupation, and a number of the irrelevant details, but this is unmistakably the Pamela Smart story.

Played as dark comedy...! The heretofore unimpressive Buck Henry redeemed himself in my eyes with this wickedly amusing script.

While peppering us with the kind of mirroring observations about the shallowness and stupidity of the media and the society it reflects which makes us both laugh and squirm with more than passing discomfort, the top-notch cast masterfully play out the excellent script in such a mesmerizing fashion you simply will not believe nearly two hours are gone when it is over.

Nicole Kidman in particular displays intelligence and acting prowess I never imagined her capable of; she is in practically every frame of the film and while her character is truly despicable, you can't stop watching. The three teens, played by Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, and Alison Folland (who stands out as the easily led girl with a not too subtle lesbian infatuation on Suzanne Stone) are engaging. Perhaps the best of the cast after the lead is Illeana Douglas as the deliciously smart ass sister-in-law, she had me in stitches! From the opening credits of rushing reporters superimposed over headlines and newsprint, to the closing credits overlaid with the rather brilliantly selected Donovan song Season of the Witch, this one is a must see film from an era of otherwise bland cinema.

A normal movie, with an incredible acting of Nicole Kidman and a good acting role of Joaquin Phoenix.

This movie, told as a documentary, with scenes from different time lines related, is about Suzanne Stone Maretto (Nicole Kidman in an incredible acting role development) a cold woman, not very smart but very determined to accomplish her goals and with an obsession with the cameras; who got married with Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), a good guy and husband; this movie, told as a documentary about the events in their life as a couple is a sarcastic story based on a book inspired by real events (the life of Pamela Smart).

Suzanne (the main character) manage to get a job as a weather woman in a TV channel, but her goals are even higher; and in the way, making a documentary, she meet three teenagers that will play an important role in the film: Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix), Russel Hines (Casey Affleck, brother of Ben) and Lydia Mertz (Alison Folland).

The movie's good things are the great acting of Nicole Kidman, the a good acting of a young Joaquin Phoenix, and the innovative way to tell the story (as a documentary narrated by the characters). Beside that, the movie is simple and poor, with a lot of sarcastic events and not much interesting scenes.

Worth to see but nothing exceptional 6/10

This actually felt like I'm watching a classic but for some reason it's really underrated.

Gus Van Sant made his first attempt at going mainstream in the black comedy To Die For.

The young cast of Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck boasts three future Oscar winners.

Kidman plays Suzanne Stone who would do anything to become a media star. She is mean spirited and manipulative.

Suzanne has married Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon) who has a family restaurant business and whose father has some mafia links.

When Larry insists that they start a family. Suzanne lures some high school kids through her sex appeal and who are featured in a documentary that she is making to kill Larry.

The film has a mixture of styles such as a mockumentary as the participants speak directly to the camera.

Van Sant wants to take potshots about the media obsessed young people of the 1990s.

As a satire it lacks bite. It is not as funny or as black as it should be. Van Sant went too mainstream. It works better as a showcase for some of its future stars.

Nicole Kidman is right on target in this notable dark comedy, an adaptation of the Joyce Maynard novel which was itself inspired by a notorious real life story. Nicole, looking absolutely ravishing throughout, is a completely self-serving sociopath named Suzanne Stone who's simply hellbent on achieving her personal American dream of being a TV personality. When she realizes that her nice guy husband Larry (Matt Dillon, in a solid change of pace performance) is going to be an obstacle in her path, she turns on the heat and convinces dumb as dirt, lovelorn teenager Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix, in his breakthrough performance) to bump off Larry. She then proceeds to play to the media to her hearts' content.

22 years later, this film version remains pretty damn relevant, in the era of reality television where just about any person can become a celebrity for no really good reason, and fame & fortune is still seen as a worthwhile goal. Working from a screenplay by actor Buck Henry, director Gus Van Sant gives us a thoroughly absorbing film with a fair amount of ideas to mull over. Just like any good dark comedy, it's funny in a twisted sort of way. I'm sure some people who've followed the story, or read the book, or seen the movie, must know one or more people like Suzanne Stone.

An exceptional cast full of familiar faces is the real drawing card: Phoenix, Casey Affleck as his degenerate "friend", Alison Folland as the awkward girl who hangs out with the two of them, Dan Hedaya and Maria Tucci as Larry's parents, Kurtwood Smith and Holland Taylor as Suzannes' folks, Tim Hopper and Michael Rispoli as investigating detectives, Wayne Knight as the manager of a local TV station, and especially Illeana Douglas as Larry's sister, a cynical sort who has Suzanne pegged right early on. Making cameo appearances are author Maynard (as Suzannes' lawyer), screenwriter Henry (as a huffy teacher), and filmmaker David Cronenberg as the mysterious man at the lake. Kidman is a marvel as she really struts her stuff for the camera.

Ultimately, one does feel somewhat sorry for Jimmy when it's seen just how pathetic he really is. He's just one of many characters who get jerked around by Suzanne, a master manipulator if ever there was one.

Eight out of 10.

Pleased to see, based on the overall 6.8 rating, that my fellow IMDBers are resisting imbibing the Koolaid on this Gus Van Sant work that, at the time it came out, seemed to be liked by everyone in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area but me. I have tried to watch it several times since then only to do what I failed to do the first time I watched it, since the first time I watched it I was trapped with my wife, who loved it, in a movie theatre, and that is to pull the plug after about an hour.

Why do I dislike it? Nothing profound to offer, simply to note that I am not a fan of movies where the film makers, in this case Van Sant and scenarist Buck Henry, both look down at their characters as dumb ass provincials and fail to make them interesting as humans. This results in a general feeling of "Well, if Van Sant and Henry cannot stand these people then I sure as hell cannot, either." Iliana Douglas partially excepted. C plus.

PS...Wonder why George Segal eschewed a credit? I'd like to think it was because he has good taste but if that were the case then he never would have been in this thing in the first place.

A black comedy that is neither black nor a comedy, this is no more a satire of, or any kind of comment on, the media, than `Melrose Place' was a satire of ... well, at least `Melrose Place' had the grace not to pretend to be about anything. The presence of video cameras in every shot does not give this empty movie even a theme, let alone a message. And if I hear the American national anthem being played ironically one more time ... I mean, really, is there any more sure sign of intellectual bankruptcy? Irony by itself is of no value; and Van Sant doesn't even get so far as to be ironic. We have the shell of irony without the flesh. We have people going through the motions of telling a joke or making a pointed remark when there's no joke and no point.

A story that might have served as the basis for a good movie is stretched out interminably with videotaped narration, pauses, rewinds and fast-forwards; although to compensate for all this mularky it ends abruptly, as if Van Sant ran out of tape. Characters are coldly slapped before us like bodies in a morgue. Perhaps someone mistook this lack of warmth for comedy, although I don't know that anyone actually laughed.

I admit it's hard to fault the acting. (Almost no film is ever spoiled by a poor performance - almost always a film is spoiled by something else instead.) The character of Janice even manages to elicit some sympathy now and then, partly due to the actress (Illeana Douglas), partly because most of the writing is, in a sort of a way, good, if you focus on the individual sentences and ignore the pattern they fail to form. Lydia, played by Alison Folland, would also be sympathetic if her character even approached consistency. She's the trailer park resident who's allegedly unattractive. I'd like to take this opportunity to remark that the attitude this film has to the poor is a sickening one: contempt masquerading as sympathy.

The movie would be distasteful enough to watch in any event. I've read over my comments and they strike me as being far too mild - this really is tawdry rubbish.