Sola con l'assassino

Right from the opening credits and the full-blown saxophone score accompanying them, you know what you're in for: a typical erotic thriller of the early 1990's - the most prolific period of the genre. It does stand a little above the crowd because of the ambiguous "villain" - is he indeed a villain or is he really just exposing and satisfying the hidden desires of these (admittedly gullible) women for mutual gain? And the fact that the film was directed by a woman and co-written by another adds an extra layer: are Lizzie Borden and Laurie Frank trying to tell us something about their own secret fantasies? Despite all that, "Love Crimes" never raises the temperature high enough, probably because of the two leads: Patrick Bergin is miscast as a smooth charmer (especially after just coming off "Sleeping With The Enemy" where he played Julia Roberts' abusive husband), and Sean Young is wooden - which actually fits her character at the start. The problem is that she stays wooden even later when she shouldn't be (she is also a little too skinny for my tastes in this one). ** out of 4.

Does a woman become exquisitely androgynous when her hair is cut short and combed like a man's, and she is made to look boyish? Hell, yeah! At least, as long as she has her clothes on. For an erotic psychological thriller, try "Love Crimes" (1991), with an exquisitely androgynous Sean Young and a handsome Patrick Bergin.

Sean Young's co-star, Patrick Bergin, is special as the perp. Her voice is velvety and seductive, and so is his. Prosecutor/detective Dana Greenaway (Young), is good-looking, and so is photographer/perpetrator, David Hanover (Bergin). They're a perfect match, on opposite sides of the coin, since he's the evil one and she is trying to nab him by switching jobs from prosecutor to detective and going out into the field alone.

Nothing is far-fetched in cinema any more than in life, and the plot of "Love Crimes" is based on events in the life of fashion photographer, Richard Avedon.

It's so gripping and near-perfect a movie, that I postponed watching the denouement for one night so as not to spoil what I'd seen so far, by an ending. Then, I thought to watch the movie to the end in increments, or to never know it. But, I gave in the second night and watched it through.

If "Love Crimes" has anything but a Hollywood ending, it will make for a rare American movie because the potential is there. And, in part, that's where director, Lizzie Borden, leads us. Aren't we right to expect something unusual from a director with the name, Lizzie Borden, named after America's notorious axe-murderer?

In "Love Crimes" Sean Young does something erotically outrageous, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a movie since beautiful Maruschka Detmers fellated her co-star, Federico Pitzalis, in Marco Bellochio's gem,"Il Diavolo in Corpo" ("Devil in the Flesh"), fifteen years ago.

In "Love Crimes" an exciting cat and mouse chase is enacted between photographer, David Hanover (Bergin) and prosecutor/ detective, Dana Greenaway (Young). Something strange occurs in several confrontations between Greenaway and Hanover when Hanover disarms himself by giving up a loaded gun--and more than once. By this act, the director suddenly ups the tension many notches by abruptly shifting the balance of power.

Lizzie Borden is up to something and on track for deviating from the Hollywood norm. The episodes of power shifting played slowly (as they should be) make us wonder what the good guy will do. They may be the best moments of a remarkable movie. See how far the director is willing to take it.

"Love Crimes" like any movie has flaws but they don't take away from the delicate psychological jousting of the antagonists Some time in their lives men and women possess a physical beauty that reaches its height. When that beauty is exploited by a director and captured by the camera, beauty's pleasure is transmitted to whoever is sensitive to it. Such is the beauty of Sean Young and Patrick Bergin when they made "Love Crimes."

Patrick Bergin may engender as much sympathy as we give Don Juan, but we shouldn't confuse that with a fine performance. He is the perp and he is superb as a convincingly seductive confidence man.

Bergin is gentle, smart, soft-spoken and manipulative. He is also liable to self-destruct or to attack when his mind or emotions dictate. We don't know what he'll do next, or what Sean Young will do either, and that is the film's charm.

Some of the new female directors either like having their female leads appear mannish, like Robin Wright in "Loved" and Sean Young in "Love Crimes," or choose to make a movie in which the lead character calls for a male impersonator like Hilary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry."

If you look at some films directed by women going back to Diane Kurys' "Entre Nous" to "Thelma and Louse," "The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love," "Loved" "Kissed" and "Love Crimes" you get a refreshingly varied perspective on the nature of women and men. The new female directors travel along interesting paths with their unique vision of the human animal and the human condition, and hopefully they'll let us come along more often.

Lizzie Borden, if that is her real name, attempts to direct a passionate, sexual thriller about seduction and love. Besides moments of nudity and sexual overtones, the movie falls flat on its face. Sean Young attracts an audience to see this mild excuse for a thriller. A low budget, none-the-less, Love Crimes is a story of passion, without the passion. While Sean Young is still learning how to act and the carry a film, Patrick Bergin, the evil husband from Sleeping with the Enemy, is five times a better actor than Young. However, it is Young who draws the audience to see her naked. Although she is not a super model or a top ten actress, Sean Young represents the average, everyday woman with the average figure. It is that audience, viewer make up, that is attracted to these movies. For that reason, Love Crimes has an audience but not much of a fan base.

Atlanta D.A. Dana Greenway (Sean Young) takes risks in a sting putting her investigator Hannah on the line. Colleen Dells comes to her complaining about David Hanover (Patrick Bergin). He pretends to be a well-known famous photographer and scared her into posing nude even having sex. A second victim comes with a similar story except this time he took her car. Dana's boyfriend/superior Stanton Gray suggests perversity could be more conviction worthy than the actual crime. With no one willing to file charges, Dana tracks down Hanover in Savannah putting herself in the position of his next victim.

Sean Young gels back her hair so hard that it looks like it hurts. It's an overly overt visual cue to denote a hard cold female lawyer. This movie is caught between a salacious sexploitation B-movie and a serious take on the reality of rape. It makes this very awkward and unappealing. It tries to go into some dark murky psychological space but it feels more like a melodrama. I don't know what exactly her plan was going to his place. It seems very close to entrapment. It would have worked so much better if he could pick her up from the bar or the photo lab. The movie feels awkward in many places. Following Hannah tracking down Dana is not compelling. The movie should have ended after Dana gets out of imprisonment. The drama can't go any higher and the last section runs too long. Director Lizzie Borden has made mostly erotic fiction and this doesn't have the best production value.

The concept of the legal gray area in Love Crimes contributes to about 10% of the movie's appeal; the other 90% can be attributed to it's flagrant bad-ness. To say that Sean Young's performance as a so-called district attorney is wooden is a gross understatement. With her bland suits and superfluous hair gel, Young does a decent job at convincing the audience of her devout hatred for men. Why else would she ask her only friend to pose as a prostitute just so she can arrest cops who try to pick up on them? This hatred is also the only reason why she relentlessly pursues a perverted photographer who gives women a consensual thrill and the driving force behind this crappy movie. Watching Young go from frigid to full-frontal nudity does little to raise interest, but the temper tantrum she throws standing next to a fire by a lake does. Watching her rant and rave about her self-loathing and sexual frustration makes Love Crimes worth the rental fee, but it's all downhill to and from there. Despite her urge to bring Patrick Bergin's character to justice, her policing skills completely escape her in the throes of her own tired lust and passion. Patrick Bergin does a decent enough job as a slimy sociopath; if it worked in Sleeping With the Enemy it sure as hell can work in this. But I can't help but wonder if the noticeable lack of energy Young brings to the film conflicts with his sliminess. I'm guessing it does and the result is a "thriller" with thrills that are thoroughly bad and yet comedic.