L'ombra del testimone

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.

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.

I'm not a big fan of the genre but this one is very well done. The flashback technique works beautifully. The acting is good by Headly, an awesome actress who should be A-list by now. Willis, who is a bit underrated because of the action blockbusters but does comedy well, is pretty believable here in a stereotypical type character that he manages to get something more out of than your average actor. Keitel is marvelous and you have to appreciate the nuances he brings out as the pro that he is. John Pankow is good and should be working more than he is. Moore has the largest role and as usual, she's the weakest actor, but decent enough to carry off the role. The story is riveting; you always can't wait to see what happens next. The touches of humor are really funny and come naturally from the characters and situations rather than being jokes. The plot has plenty of twists. The ending, while a little unsatisfying to me, does leave it up to the viewer to make the moral decisions. If you like suspense movies and great acting, you'll love this and even if you don't, you'll enjoy it anyway.

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.

The Carnival Scene in Mortal Thoughts was actually filmed in a small-time amusement park in Scotch Plains, New Jersey called Bowcraft. The park is still in operation today and is better than ever. Ironically the Ferris Wheel that appears on the cover of the movie has since been removed due to the death of a child a few years back.