Lady Beware

This has something of the feel of being a TV movie and I see that is where most of this lady directors work is shown, though this was a straight to video feature. The big difference is that this has moments of sex and violence and particularly language that would not have endeared it to TV in the 80s. Set I believe in Pittsburg, we see a fair amount of the city and if the story surrounding a window dresser and the stalking it attracts is not particularly original this certainly has a decent edge to it with SM inspired arrangements of the mannequins. We are led to believe that it is this element that prompts Woods' character to become so obsessed but as a gay seeming married with daughter guy, this is never properly dealt with or exploited. Diane Lane acts her socks off and sheds everything else as well, several times while Michael Woods poses about the place rather moodily and never until the end with much conviction. Revenge is sweet, but it takes a long, long time here, though it has to be admitted there is some decent suspense and thrills along the way, again particularly towards the end. If I'm making this sound rather dull, I'm afraid that's because largely it is, despite the potential offered by the visuals and the frightening situation we are presented with. (80s music doesn't help!)

I find this movie every few years and watch it again. Something about it is haunting. Diane Lane makes the whole movie. Her New York loft is a crucial piece of the plot - almost another character. The males characters are fine but she's divine.

Diane Lane finally gets a solid part in a pretty good picture; so often, Lane is stuck in unsuitable parts in rather lousy movies ("The Cotton Club", "Streets Of Fire"), so much so that her career nearly evaporated after a promising start. She's first-rate here playing big-city career girl dressing windows for a department store, intriguing a married man who becomes obsessed with her. Surprisingly subtle B-movie overcomes the minimal budget with smart writing and direction, good performances by all in the cast. Lane's converted warehouse digs uncomfortably reminds one of "Flashdance", but the revenge-angle in the second-half is clever and well-done; nicely attuned climax too, making its point without going over-the-top. **1/2 from ****

The only reason to watch this movie is to see Diane Lane naked. There are 4 or 5 scenes where you, along with the stalker and her lover, get to see Diane's breasts and beautiful body. Basically the movie sucks! Diane's character is a sexually frustrated working woman who gets stalked by an admirer who is very disturbed. She has an erotic dreams about her work and bathes in her studio apt. with no shades. She gets bothered by the stalking and can't really have sex with anyone she's seeing. She almost does after stripping down for her lover, but can't quite do it. Oh, well. You still got to see this outstanding actress shed her clothes. That's the only reason to watch this one.

Katya Yano (Diane Lane) arrives at Horne's department store in Pittsburgh and convinces the owner to give her a job as a window display designer. "Your window displays are so boring," she says. She succeeds when she sets up the store mannequins in sexually provocative and kinky poses. Some folks are outraged like the fellow who screams "You can see her crotch." Of course it's just a mannequin. Anyway, the stores' sales dramatically increase. Meanwhile, there is an erotic dream sequence by which Katya has sex with a male mannequin who comes to life. Later in real life she exposes her ample breasts to her lover, Mac Odell (Cotter Smith). Along the way Mac Odell somehow disappears from the movie and never reappears for the denouement.

The attention arouses the passions of Jack Price (Michael Woods), a lab technician who becomes obsessed with the vulnerable single woman who lives downtown in a loft apartment in an older, spacious brick building. Price continually harasses the young woman by making obscene telephone calls. He also breaks into her apartment and sniffs things. Somehow the police are powerless. Despite the constant stalking, Price has not been a murderer, and there are no killings as 1980s movies like "Dressed to Kill" (1980), "Dead Aim" (1987)," and "Night Game" (1989).

Eventually Katya decides to fight back on her own. No spoilers are provided here, but there are two strange scenes along the way. One shows the stalker somehow getting on top of Katya's building and using just a single rope manages to squeeze through an open window to enter Katya's place. No one notices anything. The other scene shows Katya, alone and unarmed, purposely confronting Price at night in the city. No backup? What was she thinking? It is true that the constant stalking has distressed her, but her action is off the wall. All in all, though, the movie never loses interest.