Excès de confiance

This Thriller was received poorly on it's release, this is unfortunate as I found much to like here.

Firstly I liked the main musical score running throughout the film and the Director was quite clearly going for a Hitchcockian feel, which only partially succeeds though.

The chemistry between the leads is excellent and the scenes containing both DeMornay and Banderas are the strongest and most watchable. I have to say I did not think Harry Dean Stanton put too much effort into his part as he was not all that convincing and Dennis Miller was just plain irritating. Len Cariou was okay as DeMornay's father, but really the two leads are the main focus and the main reason to watch this. The love scenes although a bit lengthy were stylishly made and did not detract from the film, the ending although a bit of a stretch was at least surprising and acted fairly convincingly (although I am no shrink).

So although being far from a classic I certainly thought it was far from being the worst thriller. I would rate it above the Meg Ryan effort "In The Cut" & Ashley Judd's "Twisted" along with Sandra Bullock's "Murder by Numbers" to name a few.

My rating 6.6 out of 10

Yes, the plot devices were, at times, obvious. Yes, there were clear hints to the outcome in the early stages of the film. Yes, some of the acting wasn't great.

But, I didn't think it was that bad, and (forgive my ignorance in psychiatric matters if this is wrong) that implausible either.

I think, in acting terms, it was a general disappointment in the two main star actors who have done much better work than this. But don't be too harsh.

Duh, it's a thriller during the early nineties Tarnished Age of Thrillers. I'm sure glad we're past that stage. So yes, if you don't know already, as a thriller it stinks.

But as a sex movie, it's not bad. I mean, who else would you rather see getting it on than Banderas and De Mornay. There's one classically trashy scene when Antonio nails the naked and voluptuous Rebecca up against a very trendy chain-link fence inside her very trendy loft. Antonio looks more angry than turned on and Rebecca looks more ashamed and uncomfortable, but she's naked, sexy, and making some happy sounds, so who cares? And who cares whodunit either?

I like this sort of picture, the kind of mystery in which you can't pick out the murderer until the end of the movie. It's not billed as a mystery, though, but that's what it is. Although primarily a mystery, it spends a lot of time as a romance between the two principals, and then switches gears before the onset of tedium. As a result, there is a considerable dead spot in the middle of the film, which may have influenced some reviewers ratings.

As I mentioned, the ending is quite clever and the picture keeps you guessing, since there are few suspects to choose from and the ending was unexpected. Rebecca De Mornay was good as the heroine and Antonio Banderas was even better as the romantic stranger. Len Cariou plays her father in a wasted role. Banderas is often better than the material and does not seem to take himself seriously, as witnessed by the number of crummy movies he has appeared in.

"Never Talk To Strangers" is an absorbing, if uneven, murder mystery which has been given short shrift by reviewers on the IMDb website. If you rent it, give it a chance. I'll bet you won't guess the secret to the ending.

This thriller is a bit rough-edged, but a lot of people like that sort of thing. Rebecca DeMornay was the at the top of her game around this time (early to mid '90s).

GOOD NEWS - Overall, an interesting and involving story, especially in the second half. The movie is capped by a surprise ending I defy anyone to guess correctly. There are a few steamy scenes, too.

BAD NEWS - No likable characters, too much profanity; a few minor holes in the story; an obvious feminist bias and DeMornay's foul mouth and morals are pretty rotten for a psychologist, the character she plays. The guys - Dennis Miller and Antonio Bandaras - play pretty sleazy characters, too.

OVERALL - Interesting movie but too sleazy a feel to it.