Cold Heart

I came home last night from band practice with my tail dragging; it wears me out. I was surprised to find my wife up at 11:30. She said she'd had trouble sleeping. So I made some popcorn and we flipped through the channels. This movie was just starting. In its way, it's a real gem. The characters are all so ridiculous that they're like comic book characters; but I mean that in a good way. The movie wisely stays focused tightly on just a handful of characters: Kinski, a professional woman working for a company that does I'm not quite sure just what (brokerage, I think?); her analyst husband; the young pyscho who works for her firm AND is a patient of the analyst; and Kinski's assistant, an impossibly sexy and overly-made-up blonde.

The psycho is almost too goofy at the start, with his leering smile and his oh-so-perfect hair. He accompanies Kinski on a business trip, and finds it laughably easy to get her to have a drink, then to slam shots, and finally to go to bed with him. (One is surprised that her clothes don't literally fly off her, she's so obviously eager to be seduced.) The next fifteen minutes of the movie shift to softcore porn with plenty of groping and breasts and buttocks (none of which are Kinski's, I'm guessing).

Then the movie proper begins. Blah blah, back home, blah blah, she's made a mistake, blah blah, he won't take no for an answer. And there's something not...quite...right about the husband.

Anyway, the whole things gets resolved in an anti-climax at a rustic cabin the analyst has just presented to Kinski, purportedly to atone for his failings as a husband that had led her to the arms of another. The ending turns into comedy, almost slapstick, with some funny lines that are made even funnier because the movie gave no hint that it, like the young psycho, is completely schizophrenic.

All in all, this was a pretty cheesy movie, and if you were taking it seriously from the beginning, you would probably find yourself annoyed with it. We both watched it because it was late, there was nothing better to do, and we just wanted to be entertained. And we were.

Its low budget VHS or early CD style quality movie. with some decent performance for that budget movie. The movie also has very surprise ending. which is kinda nice.

The movie plot is not that new, its same married wife with passionless marriage. and then hookup with someone , which goes wrong later. and also estranged rich husband. there are many movies like that in 90s era , with more erotic style.

this movie lacks sex scenes or nude sense. but anyhow its ok.. the movie is exciting and very good in the end too,.

I like Hudson Leick as much as the next guy (and probably more than most of the next guys), but even for her, this movie is just not worth watching. It's just plain terrible from start to finish. Sure, Hudson looks great if that's your interest -- not hard for her to look good in any case -- but even fast-forwarding and just watching her scenes, this one is just a real crapper. Even if you really like Hudson, avoid it.

I cant believe i was looking forward to this movie! Why Kinski! is it that bad ! The Plot, the acting, the directing .. All fail. Even the shower scene and the sex scene are made up with a fake model! I'm going to think twice before i see another movie for Kinski or Dimster. Uhhhh!

When it comes to Ms. Kinski, just give me Paul Schrader's 1982 'CAT PEOPLE' and we'll call it a day 😊

Seriously though, what carries this film is basically the great, underrated Jeff Fahey. True, some of his roles are a bit one-note, but here he gets a real chance to act. Also, I really should give props to Josh too. I think his little asides and looks here and there give a lot of almost likeable dimension to his character too. I would strongly bet some of his little throwaway lines are ad-libbed.

But, sadly, our dear Ms. Kinski, for all her past glory (and I AM honestly sorry to have to say that) just doesn't really come through that terribly well. And please don't get me started on the female assistant. BUT... even with all that said, I must say that I really did like the overall plot. I thought it was rather clever, and Mr. Fahey and Josh pulled their weight just fine.

I hate to say it, but I think with a better female lead who could act well enough to carry the heavy emotional implications of what her character is going through, that would have gone a long way to strengthening this movie.

So, yes, it is basically worth watching I would say, if you like 'Romantic Thrillers', but in my lowly and wretched opinion I feel that the weak lead and the drawn out sex scenes kind of dragged it down a little. If you can overlook these weaknesses and just get through the story, the ending is indeed very strong, which helps. I gave it a '6', but I feel that with a different lead and a little work, the excellent idea behind it could have made it a strong '7'...