Um Crime Perfeito

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.

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.

I found the film to be very interesting and smoothly executed. The acting of film veteran Michael Douglas was superb. Paltrow and Mortensen were also very smooth and a pleasure to observe. My only problem with this film was the way it ended. An editing glitch? Maybe. It was too abrupt. But all in all, a very entertaining film and an excellent use of a familiar theme-plot.

It should also be noted that Novella Nelson, who portrays Ambassador Alice Wills, is a noted songtress in her own right. I have had the pleasure of attending a few of her concerts and night club appearances in the 1970s. An excellent, sultry and sometimes fiery singer of jazz standards and R&B.

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.

Don´t miss this thriller. It's one of the best of Michael Douglas and Gwynieth Paltrow. Viggo Mortensen played his role as a villain lover very well. It was well directed by the master Andrew Davis. Please create another good movie. The story is very hot from the begin to the end and the music by James Newton Howard was as usual perfect. I will add this one to my best of dvd collection. I highly recommend it and check out "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas. 7.5/10.