China Moon

41. CHINA MOON (thriller, 1994) Homicide Det. Bodine (Ed Harris) is a veteran of the force who knows the ins and outs of every crime scene. He meets Rachel (Madeline Stowe), a beautiful woman whose sensual charms he falls under. They begin a steamy relationship. But then he finds out she's married to an abusive and powerful man. Sensing her infidelity he confronts her, and in an act of self-defense she kills him. She seeks Bodines' help. But will he bring her to justice or help the woman he loves?

Critique: Nifty little thriller borrows from the film-noir tradition. The solid screenplay by Roy Karlson introduces many elements of the genre. There's the honest cop who falls for the habitual 'femme-fetal', and the violent husband as 'middle-man' who ends up dead. But just when you think things are headed into conventional plotting, there's a twist.

Good direction by first-timer John Bailey elicits excellent acting all around. Ed Harris gives another powerhouse performance, Madeline Stowe plays the would-be 'femme fatale' role beautifully, as well as an array of solid supporting actors including Benicio del Toro (who reminded me of James Dean in his younger days). Great ending too.

QUOTE: Kyle: "You were just fV@*!ng me weren't you?! I was loving you and you were fV#!ing me!"

Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe are underneath the temperamental "China Moon" in this 1994 film also starring Benicio del Toro.

Harris and del Toro are Kyle Bodine and Lamar Dickey partner detectives with a Florida police department. One night at a bar, Kyle meets Rachel Munro (Stowe) and falls for her immediately. She's unhappily married and has photos of her husband (Charles Dance) with another woman.

Kyle doesn't know this at the time, and tracks her down. They start seeing one another. When her husband winds up dead, Kyle helps her to cover it up.

Though the plot is derivative, this is a classily done film with terrific acting, sensual love scenes between the two leads, an easy pace and beautiful photography. It reminded me a little of "Body Heat." The plot won't be hard to figure out, but be prepared for a couple of twists.

Ed Harris gives a forceful performance as Kyle, and del Toro is understated as Lamar. When the camera rests on Stowe, she's flawlessly beautiful, and what clothes! She gives an effective performance and has a nice chemistry with Harris.

"China Moon" is a small, meticulously done movie with loads of talent behind it. The story has been told many times, but somehow, if it's done well, it's always good for another encore.

This picture that seems to have escaped the notice of the movie-going public is a stylish, murky thriller that has interesting twists and turns and good performances by Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe. The premise of the story has been done before in several noir films of the past but Harris brings credibility to his role as a smitten cop. A crack detective who solves crimes with the best of them, Harris is a lonely man who is ripe for the picking by Stowe who is not all as she seems. The sexy brunette ranks right up there with Phyllis Deitrichson and Matty Tyler Walker as the genre's classic femme fatales. The supporting cast is good, among them are Benecio del Toro and Charles Dance in key roles. The music score is soft and sultry, very similar to John Barry's theme in "Body Heat".

Although I'm a film buff I had never heard of this film, but found it surprisingly good. The plot isn't particularly startling but there are some neat twists. Above all, there is a terrific performance from Ed Harris as Kyle. You can see from the way the other cops react to him just how good he is at his job, and how much they respect him, and his fall from grace is heart-rending. By the end of the film, he looks about ten years older than he did at the beginning. His romance with Rachel is totally convincing - just the way he looks at her says it all. All in all, an interesting film which didn't deserve to sink without trace.

"China Moon" is a throwback to the old film noirs, so it has the necessarily sleazy storyline featuring an abused wife having an affair with a lonely cop. He meets her at a bar and promptly gets sucked into her drama, a common scenario. But it soon turns deadly with the husband shot. What will he do, his job or help her? A rather bleak film but features great acting performances from Ed Harris, Benecio Del Toro, and Madeleine Stowe. I rate it a 6/10. Worth watching on tv once a decade if you come across it.