Reflections on a Crime

Mimi Rogers stars as a woman awaiting her execution for the murder of her husband. She expects to spend her final hours in quiet solitude, but is surprised to be spending them in the company of Colin (Billy Zane), her guard on the last day, a man who volunteered for the duty because he is fascinated by her and wants to know the truth about her: whether she really killed her husband, and if so, why? This is definitely not a conventional hollywood movie, which is probably why good actors like Rogers and Zane were attracted to it. There isn't any phony 11th hour revelation or happy ending. What this movie does offer is a bizarre but intriguing look into two very strange relationships: first, the relationship between Rogers and her husband, who seemed obsessed with his own possible death at her hands, and we see her pretend (or maybe not pretend) to commit the act so many times that it seems as though when she finally did murder him it was nothing more than a pure formality. Then, there is the second relationship, between this woman preparing for her own end and the man who wants her to tell him how she arrived at it. She doesn't know exactly what he wants, or what to tell him, and maybe he doesn't really know what he wants either. The movie is the same way: its message is uncertain, but it tells it's story with a sure hand, anchored by two powerhouse leading performances. The result is an intriguing final product: not a great film, not a clear one, and not one you will soon forget.