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I will confess that my personal life and upbringing played a big part in how I reacted to this film. I'm a West Coast boy top to bottom. I just could not relate to the Jersey culture or the Jersey people in this film. In all their personal relationships they were at war with one another. The characters, boys and girls, were overwhelmingly stupid in that they bought into the culture of personal violence and consuming vanity. So all in all I could not relate to any of the characters and really didn't give a rat's a** what came down. They all brought whatever happened to them upon themselves. Yes Bruce Willis was believable as a total reprobate of a human being, and Demi Moore and Glenne Headley were almost believable as two Thoroughly Beaten Beauty Shop Chicks without the sense to get out of their caustic relationships. That's enough of my rant. Good-By for Now, Minorth.

"Mortal Thoughts" manages to sustain your interest throughout: it is a well-structured murder mystery with good performances by the entire cast, particularly from Bruce Willis (in one of his most unconventional roles) and Harvey Keitel who, despite his limited screen time, steals the show. But the film still falls short, maybe because it never really takes off. The final twist probably influenced the screenwriter of a very popular mid-90's cop film; those who have seen both films will understand which one I'm talking about.

I can't say the movie was awful, just that it was awfully slow. It seemed to have been filmed in slo-mo, if you know what I mean. The acting was decent, and there was a twist at the end, but by the time I got there, I was just glad for it to be over.

This movie starts off quite interesting. A young woman (Demi Moore) starts to confess to the police, that she was a witness to a murder, which was committed by her best friend (Glenn Headly). So far, so good. But then it takes her about 95 percent of the playing time of the movie to explain what happened. All that time you keep on thinking to yourself: 'Why the hell did she do all the things, she's telling us she did ?'. And finally, because the film had to have an ending I guess, they give us the solution to the 'mysterie'. Most of us probably knew it would end like this 90 minutes earlier, but hoped the script would be more surprising. No, also the cast isn't very believable, except maybe for the policewoman, who knew all along how it would end, and wisely didn't talk.

An unfairly underestimated thriller , with a an ongoing suspense , and five efficient actors (Headley ,Moore,Willis ,Neal ,and particularly Keitel as the stubborn cop who feels that there's something which does not quite fit) There are similarities with the French classic ,"les diaboliques "(Henri-Georges Clouzot ,1954) remade several times in the US : two women ,a hateful husband who humiliates his wife before her clientele in her hairdressing salon (like the headmaster did in front of the students) , and a van which plays a prominent part in both movies.

There the comparison ends ; the unexpected final twist is pretty smart ,after long questionings in the police station ; this excellent psychological thriller deserved better than this poor rating.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film for its guts to take a story and almost present it all through Demi Moore talking to two police detectives(Harvey Keitel and Bille Neal) in a room - everything we see is via her character's thoughts and perceptions and ideas of truth and untruth and is entirely in flashback form. The story centers around Moore and her friend Headly recently married to a brute of a guy played by Bruce Willis - and goes from there to murder, mystery, and the eventual uncovering of what is the truth behind everything. Director Alan Rudolph does a good job creating a story convincingly told throughout by flashback and from the first person whilst coming back to present time repeatedly. This is not as easy as it sounds and has been messed up in other films, but it does work here because of Rudolph's sure directorial talents and the acting of Moore, Willis, Headly and Keitel. Demi Moore gives perhaps one her best performances(looking lovely I might add as well) as a New York woman torn between several things. Headly is as strong as is Willis. All of the actors give serviceable performances and the whole movie looks and sounds like a spin off from The Sopranos or something the way all of the actors walk, talk, and act. You will have no doubts where the film takes place to be sure. The story is inventive and delivers at the end. I didn't see it coming but others could believably so - but even if that is the case the film works on other levels as well. There are some nice psychological examinations made in the film as well as challenges made to perceptions. I must agree the title is really quite horrible and has virtually nothing to do with this film, but all in all this is quite a good thriller that needs another look.

`Mortal Thoughts' is another of those films which I nearly did not see, not because of any forgetfulness on my part, nor from any other involuntary reason, but quite frankly I tend to avoid any film with people like Bruce Willis (you can put in the names of Lundgren/van Damme/Stallone/Bruce Lee and other assorted muscular brainless types at your leisure) playing the big macho he-man; I'd rather have a try at cards on the computer, even though the two of clubs always goes missing when I most need it. As well as that, the title did not seem very inspiring. I mean, just how many films are there with the word `mortal' in them? I will tell you: just over 200 including video films etc. according to IMDb's incredible search facility.

As luck would have it, firstly there was not anything else on to while away a couple of relaxing hours, and secondly a few well-written commentaries from other IMDb users (I do not take any notice of badly-written commentaries, though of course I do take into account those little mistakes that creep in to commentaries written by people whose mother-tongue is not English) suggested that I was about to see a perfectly acceptable film.

How right they were, I am glad to say. If on the one hand Bruce Willis' participation is somewhat limited and what he did was really quite decent, on the other, a very young-looking Demi Moore (29 when she made the film) played a stirring rôle, which helped to put this thriller drama a head above most of similar ilk.

Alan Rudolph's directing of a well-written script produced a more than acceptable result, aided by those timely flash-backs between the interrogation and previous events. The formula was intelligently employed, such that at no time did you feel you were getting lost anywhere along the line - as so often happens in other films trying to use the flash-back/flash-forward method.

Cynthia (Demi Moore) is `helping police enquiries', which means interrogated, into the death of her best friend's husband (Bruce Willis), and as she recounts events, the film flashes back, at times even synchronising with the dialogues in the interrogation. A handy device, which lent much to the coherence and continuity. Good work here by Demi Moore and Glenne Headly as her best friend, and it was real good to see Harvey Keitel as the detective (see him in `Shadrach' (1998) (qv), Ridley Scott's classic `Thelma and Louise' (1991) and in `The Piano' (1993), to name a few of his best rôles.

As in all films of this genre, there is that plot twist in the denouement, but in this case perhaps it misfires a little: it left me with a slight taste of incoherence after all that had happened. It left too many incognitos floating about. Perhaps the idea was not too well thought out, or perhaps I was left with the two of clubs and nowhere to put it...... Maybe I am being a little unjust, or pedantic, as the film is worth your while with some interesting interpretations from all concerned.

Just about 6 out of ten on my scale, or a couple of decimals higher.

This is a real boredom torture from the early 90's. Characters are anoying and the story is thousand times seen already.. Stopped watching after 15 min.

Most films that rely heavily on flashbacks feel contrived, but this film is redeemed by strong pacing and a tactile sense of desperation. The 'revelations' that occur throughout, if not necessarily original or surprising, are consistently entertaining, focusing more on the character's motivations for murder and betrayal than on the actual mechanics of the crime.

This is not a perfect movie, but it is oddly striking. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10, but the IMDB doesn't allow decimals. I rounded up to 7 because the film's current score of 5.5 is more fitting of a stodgy film like 2002's Unfaithful.

7/10

Cynthia Kellogg (Demi Moore) voluntarily comes in to give evidence about the case of James Urbanski (Bruce Willis) to police detectives John Woods (Harvey Keitel) and Linda Nealon. She describes the relationship between the brash James and his combative wife Joyce (Glenne Headly). Cynthia and Joyce are best friends working as hairdressers. The trio goes to a carnival and James ends up dead. Cynthia wants to call the cops but Joyce insists on covering it up. Cynthia tells her husband Artie (John Pankow).

The main problem for me is that I don't believe Cynthia from the first moment she opens her mouth. With Bruce Willis playing James so broadly and the detectives challenging her story constantly, it adds up to an unreliable story teller. That happens a lot in good narratives if it's handled right. By the thirty minutes mark, James is already dead and I'm ready for the next version of the story. That's how this movie should have gone. The detectives can interview someone else and the characters within the story become different while adding to the story. Instead, the story keeps following Cynthia and I don't believe anything on the screen.

Ignore the generic title: this tough and gritty murder investigation is one of the better commercial thrillers to fill a multiplex, and surprisingly cynical considering the otherwise glossy box office appeal of its co-stars. Glenne Headly and Demi Moore portray friends who become accomplices in the death of Headly's abusive husband (played convincingly by, of all people, Bruce Willis). Headly is the prime suspect, but the story is told by Moore, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest her view of the crime is not the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It's easy to guess the lie in her testimony, making the final surprise somewhat anti-climactic, but the facts at least are tightly plotted and smoothly presented. William Reilly's script maintains a high regard for suspense (even while taking a dim view of marital bliss), and the film shows much of the same distinctive, moody style as director Alan Rudolph's quirky romantic comedies. But the effect, in the service of such a downbeat scenario, is completely different, if no less compelling.

Perm galore, slow-motion galore. Star cast does not movie make. Everybody turns it out apart from "Die Hard/act not" guy before going baldie. Essentially a straightforward story with predictable ending and a question left unanswered. Convoluted, contrived, atrociously scored and boring. Dimly lit for dim-witted? Noir stands for something else. Not worth a watch even half-way with one eye ajar.

Not being a fan of either Demi Moore or Bruce Willis, I was not prepared to be blown away by both their performances in Mortal Thoughts. The two actors give nuanced and very real performances as regular Jersey folks, and Glenne Headly steals the movie. Demi (Cythia) and Glenne (Joyce) play lifelong friends, both beauticians at Joyce's shop. Joyce is married to the insufferable Jimmy (Willis), who alternately ignores, harasses, and hits her, when he's not out partying. Joyce is constantly talking about killing Jimmy, and since the movie begins during the investigation into his death, the movie raises your suspicion from the start.

The entire movie is told as a flashback during the police questioning of Cynthia, and Demi manages to bring to life a scared, distraught, exhausted and defensive woman whose life as a simple mother of two has been turned upside down. Harvey Keitel, as the lead investigator into the case, gives an amazing performance, supplying the audience with the right level of doubt about Cynthia's story to keep the suspense flying until the end - and all while sitting in the same chair for most of the film! Glenne Headly shows just how good she is as Joyce goes from kooky and fun to paranoid and potentially dangerous. The ending manages to tie all the ends of the mystery up while grabbing at your emotions. Truly a satisfying film for a dark and stormy night.

Clanging metal doors and a wailing saxophone jolt the viewer to attention. Twists and turns in the tricky plot keep your mind guessing. What's true? What's a lie? Two performances stand out. Willis is tantalizingly despicable as the obnoxious, wife abusing lowlife who spends his day doing drugs, hanging out at the playground, and feeding his sweet tooth. Headly is excellent as a tough, brazen, street-smart hairdresser who plays his wife. In one of her best scenes, she plays chicken with a Mack truck. The director, Alan Rudolph and DP, Elliot Davis employ various cinematic techniques to express the portent of crime. They use scenes in slow motion to convey the burden of guilt and a blurred kaleidoscope of vibrating lights to depict a state of confusion. Their choices of a gunmetal gray for the precinct and the ooze of vapor filled streets produce a noir effect. Discordant sounds and Mark Isham's eerie music enhance the psychological thrills.

I was pretty intrigued, and wondering what would happen next. Then the ending (if you can even call it that) made me feel I wasted my life bothering to watch this film. Why didn't it have the follow through? It could have been a masterpiece!

The acting was pretty intense, and had me on the edge of my seat. I was interested in the premise, despite this not being my usual style of film. I was excited to see how it would end, and the what and why of it all, when bam! The movie was just over. I had more questions than answers, and wondered what all the build up was for. I felt like I went to the fair, and after waiting in line for two hours, I am finally at the front of the line. The conductor takes my ticket, and leads me towards a seat. Then, when I am just about to get on the ride, I am told the park is closed, and to go home.

Basically the movie is a well acted suspense thriller that leaves you cold and confused in the end. If like movies with a long suspenseful beginning, a twist of a middle, and then just stop without any satisfaction in the ending, then you'll love this. If, like me, you want to know the whole story, then maybe don't waste your time here.