Sola con l'assassino

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.

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.

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.

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.

I had to view this film again, just to make sure I was reviewing the same film. Unfortunately, this film was made in America's matriarchal society.

This is the story of a man that puts women in touch with their inner sexual feelings. It is repeated several times that he has committed no crime. In fact, in Europe, this man would be admired, in America the reverse it true. This is a film about stalking and entrapment, and if you head isn't on backwards, you will understand the same person does both.

The worst thing about the film are the psychological flashbacks. Much like Marnie, but not as bad. This sort of passing blame to parents is unforgivable.

Sean Young and Patrick Bergen are seasoned B film actors, don't expect a big production. But the film is adequate to pass the message if you "get it".

If you like the drift of this film, a more sophisticated version can be found in "Night Porter" with Dirk Bogarde and even the original French version of "The Story of O". These European films treat the subject matter in a far more logical manner.