Masquerade

Masquerade is a nifty tight thriller that's fun, and wonderfully packaged as one with kick, and some real big shocks, nasty twists that sting, all done in an impressive duration of 88 minutes, in an '88 hit surprise, in which so many things happen. Lowe is well cast, and does do the role justice, as a born yachtsman/playboy, trying to work his way up the ranks, by sleeping with hot young wives, and resorting to some deceptive and selfish motives, even graduating to murder. He falls for this young heiress (Tilly) who's very good, hitting the role with honest to god, truth, as an innocent, naive young girl, who's just lost her mother, and is fighting over her fortune with his last pig of a stepfather (excellent, the film's firey star, bedding floozy, Delaney). Yeah, greedy motives, interwoven with jealousy on and betrayal make for this impressive little thriller. Savant is the other second best performance, as the jealous ridden cop, and childhood friend of Tilly's. There's an even aftershock on Lowe's part, an act of retraction, you might say, which was another feature that impressed me like every surprisingly good performance from the cast, in a thriller that's fun, where at the end of the too short duration, we're kind of sad the ride is over.

Masquerade is a psychological thriller which aspires to be a 1980s Hitchcock rejuvenation, and thanks to nice pacing and delicate acting, it largely succeeds for two thirds of a movie. The writers, Larry Brody and Dick Wolf, combine a knack for the clever with an inclination for the soapy, but fine direction by Bob Swaim keeps it together. At times, the film is confidently elegant, almost timeless, set in the idyllic Hamptons on Long Island and shot in a colour palette which almost convinces us of its Hitchcockesque affinity. Much of the trick is the combination of raw beauty and talent in the lead roles. Compared to today's over-glossed, photoshopped young stars, it's a delight to see Meg Tilly and Kim Cattrall stripped to the bone (both literally and metaphorically). Tilly revels in her role as the naïve, dreaming Olivia. By her side, a stunningly good-looking Rob Lowe is all right for the part - veiling his performance as the title suggests.

While Masquerade may have resembled something from Hitchcock's hand for an hour or so, the final part is more like something out of Dynasty. Whether it was the 1980s disease or just bad judgment, the writers go over the top with plot twists, and we start thinking about logic instead of being seduced by the initial playfulness. The final climax, which is particularly stupid, was arguably the main reason for the many bad reviews this film received, but if you're willing to ignore that, Masquerade is as enjoyable and perceptive as any film in the psy-thriller genre.

This is one of those movies that I'm glad I saw when it first came out. I remember that the theater was almost empty, but when I was leaving I heard people saying things like, "I never expected to like it that much". Rob Lowe gained credibility as an actor in my eyes with this film(and with another film called Bad Influence).

This was an interesting movie and interesting plot twists. I enjoyed Meg Tilly and Rob Lowe, and thought they both added much to the movie. Movies of this time period are pretty much over acted, and seem boring but this one was one that fun to watch and try to figure out what was going to happen next. I have to say I am usually pretty good at seeing plot twists, but I never saw these coming. I enjoyed the scenery and enjoyed the large sail boats and the opening scene with the sail boat race. I found myself looking at the styles of the ladies clothing and hairdos and was enjoying a look back at the styles of twenty years ago and remembering them.

(1988) Masquerade DRAMA THRILLER

"Masquerade" is a name of a boat that's intended for sail racing owned by wealthy heiress Olivia (Meg Tilly). The film appeared to look like an erotic drama but succumbs to becoming an unsuspenseful thriller centering on yuppie looking, Tim Whalen played by Rob Lowe hired to live with a wealthy extravagant couple in the Hamptons to lead a sail racing boat. He's then gets attached to Olivia who's inherited a substantial fortune from her mother, while living with her stepfather who's already gotten a girlfriend played by Dana Delany. By looking at the big picture, this film may have been the basis for other films that followed particularly 1998 "Wild Things" since they're some unexpected twists along the way, and 1992 "Basic Instinct" because of the approach to some erotic scenes as well as the musical score. It's basically a little mystery thriller movie with almost zero suspense, that could've been another Hitchcock's Suspicion or The Lady From Shanghai. What we get instead is a dramatized drama soap opera with splashes of some erotic scenes which doesn't offer any new surprises even though it does have it's moments which can keep viewers interested until the end without any care. And Rob Lowe is too shallow for this role to be taken seriously.