La moglie di un uomo ricco

The Rich Man's wife is an unabashedly trashy little Hitchcockian thriller with a young Halle Berry caught in a very dangerous situation that has spun wildly out of control. She discovers that her unpleasant and very wealthy husband (Christopher McDonald) has a hell of a prenuptial agreement looming over her. Over drinks with intense stranger Cole Wilson (Peter Greene), she offhandedly jokes that she should arrange his murder to speed up the process. Wilson turns out to be a grade A maniac and takes her comments seriously, setting forth some nasty events into motion that she never planned on. Berry is also getting side action from suave restauranteer Clive Owen, who ends up in way over his head trying to deal with murderous, unhinged Wilson who is attempting to frame Berry for her husband's death and generally causing problems for everyone. Berry is solid, Owen is restrained in an early career appearance. It's Greene however who earns brownie points, as he usually does. He makes Cole a fun psychopath who relishes in ruining lives and terrorizing people. A last minute, ludicrous and laughable twist ending solidifies the tawdry 90's vibe, showcasing amoral lunatics out to kill each other and pervert the American Dream. Standard thriller material, worth a watch simply to raise awareness of its existence, since it seems to have been buried in the two decades of time since its release.

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.

Josie and Tony Potenza are your typical (Hollywood) upper-crust couple. The middle-aged Tony (Christopher McDonald) is somewhat of an apathetic husband and an alcoholic, but is an otherwise loving husband with a thriving career as a film executive. Josie, the wife about half his age, feels neglected by him, but hides her concerns because she still loves her husband (and the money, let's not kid ourselves). Their flawed, but satisfactory life goes awry one night when Josie admits her marital problems to a Cole (Peter Greene), a total stranger who she becomes acquainted with after her car breaks down and he helps her out. Unfortunately for Tony, she also admits to Cole she sometimes wishes Tony was dead. Despite taking the comment back, Cole appears to take Josie's words seriously, and the problems ensue.

The cast, especially the supporting actors, bring a rather pedestrian script to life. Halle Berry is not only beautiful, but a competent actress in any role (aside from Catwoman), and in the context of the first 93 of the films 94 minute runtime, she does extraordinary as a woman lost in a situation which is totally out of her control. Christopher McDonald is great as usual, and fits the role of a wealthy, apathetic husband well. Peter Greene and Clive Owen (Josie's boyfriend) both work with what they have, and Clea Lewis (who I never heard of before this film) brings some mild humor.

The plot itself is nothing particularly new or original, but it grabs your attention slowly and when it has you hooked, it doesn't let go. While most of the material is recycled from previous (and better) films, it's presented in a manner that's still refreshing, and the characters hold it together.

Of the crew, the cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, displays his talents the best. There are many great sweeping shots of the mountains and forests, and the film as a whole has a glossy, well-composed look to it.

And there you have it: the good. The film's first 93 minutes is time well spent. The plot is interesting, the acting is above average, and film is well-shot.

Unfortunately, the last 60 seconds, yes, sixty seconds, is the film's undoing. I won't spoil the "surprise," but it is a twist ending that will cause you to scratch your head for a few minutes, and then make you wish you hadn't wasted your time. It seems like no thought went into the twist ending, and it was just tacked on because it was a popular thing to do. And with the twist at the end, gaping plot holes are left in the film. Horrible to end to an otherwise good movie. So, please take my advice. It's not such a bad movie, but skip the last 60 seconds or you'll feel cheated out of your time and intelligence.

This wasn't a bad film, it was entertaining, made you guess most of the time, and was pretty tense, its only flaw is some stupidity, and the jump scenes in it are predictable. Plus the film itself is predictable, but it is good, and it worth watching. Halle Berry is sensational as The Rich Man's Wife. The ending is especially satisfying, making your jaw drop to the ground. I give it a 7 out of 10. Rated R for strong violence and language.

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