The Rich Man's Wife

just saw this movie today. Caught my attention due mainly to the supreme creepiness of the actor who played Cole. However, it never ceases to amaze me when continuity directors completely miss the boat when it comes to the number of shots being fired in any given scene. The little pistol in this flick holds a 6 round clip yet time after time they where pumping away like there was an endless supply of bullets. OK, I might have OCD, but I usually count the shots fired in a pick just to see how serious the filmmakers are about making things realistic. Obviously, they were far too consumed with making the villain a first class creep-they did an excellent job but missed the target with the shoot-em-ups

This American thriller details the dying marriage of an older, wealthy studio executive named Tony Potenza (Christopher McDonald) and his young, trophy-wife, Josie Potenza (Halle Berry). Befittingly, this Rich Man's wife faces a conundrum when she becomes a suspect in the case of her husband's demise. Supporting characters include a suave restaurateur (Clive Owens), a psychopathic murderer (Peter Greene), and a bitter ex-wife (Clea Lewis) all with a story to tell. Berry's performance is a bit overdone and not one of my favorites of hers, whilst McDonald's performance seemed a bit lacklustre. Owen's seemed out of place at times, but this may be due to the lack of characterization in the film. However, the shining star of the film appeared to be Greene who played a convincing psychopath and evoked a feeling of danger. An honorable mention goes to Lewis, who added a bit of humor to the overall tone of the film.

The plot is an amalgamation of various tropes we have seen before in movies with an unassuming dialogue to accompany it. Technically, the cinematography was standard, but the plot left much to be desired. There were times when it seemed as if the story was thrown together in haste with little thought given to the decisions made by the characters.

Despite its flaws (and the truly unnecessary plot twist), the movie proved interesting enough to keep me entertained but not appealing enough to warrant a rewatch.

Suffering from a bad childhood, "Josie Potenza" (Halle Berry) marries at an early age to a wealthy real estate developer named "Tony Potenza" (Christopher McDonald) in order to essentially escape from a life of poverty. However, after seven years she realizes that her marriage is in trouble and in order to attempt to patch things up suggests that the two of them get away for a week to a cottage in the woods. Unfortunately, once there Tony gets a call from the office and has to go back. Needless to say, Josie isn't very happy with this sudden turn of events and rather than go back with him chooses to stay at this isolated location. Not long afterward she meets a man named "Cole Wilson" (Peter Greene) and subsequently tells him about her rich husband and the marital problems she is currently having. Unfortunately, Cole has some serious issues of his own and mistakenly concludes that she wants him to kill Tony. To make things worse, he then becomes quite agitated when she refuses his companionship and attempts to rape Josie--only to flee when she fires at him with a small pistol. After this Josie's problems really begin. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I was somewhat disappointed with this movie. The main reason for this was because, although this film had drama, it seemed to lack the passion or suspense often necessary for a movie of this type. Likewise, I thought that the surprise twist at the end was especially pedestrian. Be that as it may, Halle Berry put in a fine performance and because of that this movie wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. In any case, while it certainly could have been better, I suppose it was okay for the most part and because of that I have rated it as about average.

I watched this movie around 3 o'clock in the morning and I wasnt really impressed.

First of all, How can you trust a guy like Peter Greene(Cole Wilson)?

This film was predictable in many parts and the lighting was really bad.However,Halle Berry was very pretty in this movie and yes she actually does cry.

Just dont make the same mistake I did and stay up til' 3 o'clock in the morning.But what the heck I was bored.

To wrap this comment up I give it a 6/10 *

It would appear that the writers of this rather muddled movie were in a big rush to get the script in. They borrowed elements of a number of movies, including the two in my summary, patched them together and voila. Instant movie.

Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't a total loss. If you just consider the acting, we have two standouts. Peter Greene as one of the vilest villains I've seen in a while, and Clea Lewis as the greedy, vindictive wife of the best friend.

Let's not forget Halle Berry. No, let's not. Her acting is always credible, even when she's forced to recite lines like these. And I can assure you she is as adorable in person as she is on screen. I worked with her on a mini-series called "The Wedding" some years ago. She was pleasant, professional, cheerful, friendly, and beautiful. Gee, I almost sound like I'm gushing, but I have worked a lot of movies with a lot of actors, and she really did stand out.

All in all, I don't think you can lose by spending a little time with this movie, but I have to warn you: There are more plot holes in it than there are pot holes in Jersey City.