874. The Last Seduction (1994)

Running Time: 110 minutes
Directed By: John Dahl
Written By: Steve Barancik
Main Cast: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, Michael Raysses, Bill Nunn
Click here to view the trailer

STEAMY

I'm off today, work tomorrow and off again on Friday, so I'm hoping to take advantage of the situation and get more than a few movies out of the way. FYI, I'm also going to be working on the FRIGHTFEST movies this week and plan to have them all done in time for next Friday, when I'll start posting one per night. Anyway, "The Last Seduction"...

The film is a neo-noir for the uninformed and stars Linda Fiorentino ("Men In Black", "Dogma") as Bridget, a self serving bitch who, as the trailer puts it, is "bad to the bone". The film starts with Bridget's husband, Clay (Pullman) finalizing a drug deal. He gets a brown bag full of cash for his trouble and takes it home to Bridget. Before Clay knows it, Bridget snags the cash and takes off, destination Chicago. However, when she runs out of gas one night in Beston (near Buffalo) she decides to spend the night. She visits the local watering hole and "hooks up" with young Mike (Berg). They end up back at his place and the next morning, Bridget consults her lawyer. He tells her to stay put, that Chicago would be the first place Clay would go looking for her. As much as she doesn't want to bed down in Sticksville, she decides to make a go of it, for the sake of eluding Clay and keeping the cash. She changes her name to Wendy Kroy (New York backwards...sort of) and begins a semi-relationship with Mike, who wants more out of the partnership than just casual sex. Meanwhile, Clay hires a personal detective to help him track down Bridget, but she may be a little too savvy for his tricks. From there, Bridget/Wendy puts a plan into motion that will allow her to keep the old cash, earn some new and get off scott free.

SPOILER ALERT!

I've got to tell you that "The Last Seduction" didn't start out that good. Therefore, my first advice for newcomers to this film would be to stick with it, through thick & thin, because at first it resembles one of those cheap, 90s, straight to video pieces of garbage of which there were too many to count. At first, it's not so much a neo-noir, as much as it is plot loosely draped around excuses for the two mains to have meaningless sex, thus giving it an almost softcore porn feel, but even tamer, as there isn't a lot of nudity. I was all prepared to give this movie somewhere in the neighborhood of a '4' and then the pace started to pick up and the plot thickened to very interesting proportions. The film could have been about thirty minutes shorter and the score could have been a little more threatening, but by the time the credits rolled, I have to say I was impressed that the film was actually able to turn me around so drastically.

Well, it was definitely the ending that did it, which I loved. I kept expecting typical Hollywood fodder, but didn't realize that this film originally aired on HBO, a channel that is known for pushing the envelope a little further than the rest. Anyway, I kept expecting Bridget to calm down and live happily ever after with Mike, with their millions in cash in tow, as they sauntered down a lone street, not unlike the Tramp in "Modern Times". However, the film got more noirish as time went on and was complete with plot twists that reminded me of "Body Heat", in a way - one of the more impressive neo-noirs. So, in conclusion, hang in there if you give it a shot and I promise the payoff will be worth it. Plus, Fiorentino has never looked better, sporting heels and stockings for almost the entire duration of the picture and turning in a fantastic performance to boot. Unfortunately, she peaked in the mid-90s and then just sort of fell of the face of the Earth.

RATING: 6.5/10  I could see myself going higher come RECAP time, but for now we'll play it safe. Seriously though, this is a really good, really fun little noir, that I'd easily recommend.

MOVIES WATCHED: 744
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 257

October 16, 2013  3:51pm