Delitto perfetto

I went into A Perfect Murder expecting to enjoy it, but I recognised the fact that I wouldn't be in for a great film. To be honest, I love thrillers like this as they offer a solid two hours (or so) of non-too taxing entertainment, and what's not to like about that? A Perfect Murder is an update of the Hitchcock classic 'Dial M For Murder', and while the film doesn't touch Hitchcock's in terms of how thrilling it is, this update has been well handled and despite losing things such as the claustrophobia and the tight plot, A Perfect Murder still does what you'd expect it to do. The plot has become more expansive for this update, but the filmmakers have still managed to keep it tight so that the plot is focused mainly on the characters as opposed to the actual crime. The plot follows a rich man (Michael Douglas) who discovers that his trophy wife (Gweneth Paltrow) is having an affair with an artist (Viggo Mortensen). When his business affairs start to go awry, he decides to commit the perfect murder so that he can inherit his wife's trust fund. However, as all of us Hitchcock fans know; there's no such thing as the perfect murder.

Michael Douglas was the absolute perfect choice for this role. He may get typecast as the slimy businessman often, but he does it so well! You can really believe that he wants to kill his wife. Gweneth Paltrow, who is often solid but never outstanding; and Viggo Mortensen, who is actually a good actor, join him and make up the three-piece central cast. Mortensen's performance here isn't awesome; but it's good, and hints at the sort of stuff that would be to come - such as a great turn in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. Like most nineties thrillers, this one is very stylishly shot and there's a focus on the more steamy elements of the story. The locations used aptly convey the groups within society that the characters belong to and the film does a good job of setting its scenes. The central set piece is well executed, and the build up to it is well done also; but it has to be said that the film starts to fall apart a little after that. Still, A Perfect Murder never becomes boring and even during it's down time; the film still manages to be thrilling. As mentioned, this isn't as great as Hitchcock's version - but as modern remakes go - this certainly isn't a bad one, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Micheal Douglas (Steven) and Gwenyth Paltrow (Emily) are a married couple. Emily falls in love and has an affair with a young painter, David Shaw (Mortensen). Hiding the affair and making a tense move, Emily is put in the position to tell Steven or not. One way or another Steven has a plan, a plan to murder his own wife....with a little help from the someone else.

I really love this movie. I try to watch it as much as possible. In this movie it is set to the level of Micheal Douglas's creepy and insanity side of his acting. He scared me so much that I didn't feel comfortable about seeing this for the first time. Gwenyth Paltrow on the other hand, plays a very innocent and lovely role. She really doesn't have a clue what Steven and David are up to in this twisting thriller. Viggo is absolutely excellent in this movie. He gave an outstanding role and put another character on my favorite list. This is a very good movie and I recommend this movie to Alfred Hitchcock and mystery/murder fans. I would rate this 10/10

Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER was based on the Frederick Knott play of the same name. A PERFECT MURDER takes elements from the play, makes alterations in scenes and characters, changes the ending, and in attempting to modernize the whole thing has added some extra gore to the proceedings so today's audiences won't feel cheated. And yet, the result is not only distinctly disappointing, but inferior.

Only fans of Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas will relish their performances in this pale rehash of the original material. The complexity of "the key under the stairmat" which was so effectively played out in the Hitchcock film is entirely missing here. The detective work so fascinating in the original play and film is also gone despite the fact that he is played by David Suchet (in a very underwritten role). In short: none of the revisions are any improvement. Nor does Viggo Mortensen impress as Paltrow's lover.

Those who haven't seen the movie or the play DIAL M FOR MURDER will no doubt find some of this absorbing enough--but anyone able to make a comparison is bound to be disappointed. I'll take Ray Milland-Grace Kelly-Robert Cummings under Hitchcock's direction any day over a misguided Paltrow and Douglas under Andrew Davis' direction.

As for the comments of the viewer who said, "Who's Hitchcock?", please...spare me your review.

This is a good movie, the more I watch it the more I like it. When I first viewed this movie I thought it was ok, but when we bought the video it began to grow on me. The acting is excellent, and the story twists along at a good pace. Douglas is a good actor and his performance alone is worth renting this film.

Movies like these are missing from mainstream cinema today. I haven't seen a decent current psychological thriller for over a decade with the exception of Gone Girl. I am experiencing major Marvel fatigue and really wish the studios put out movies like this between all the blockbuster cgi fests. I miss the 90's thrillers like Kiss the Girls, Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Basic Instinct, Seven, Fatal Attraction, etc. This is my first time seeing this movie in 2022. The first half being significantly better than the second half. The first half was clever and fairly surprising and though unlikely, it was realistic. The second half got a little messy with a cliche ending. Still I appreciate the nice change of pace.