Genres

Visitors Review

steve-muir 2013-05-18 04:38:28

Quote quibble

I really enjoyed this movie - the sheer amorality is invigorating. Ipersonally found the cast universally terrific, although maybe thegreatest credit should go to the writer, whose tight plotting andmodern twist on film noir dialogue is my cup of tea. I also loved theother John Dahl films 'Kill Me Again' and 'Red Rock West'.My quibble is in the quotes section where they have Harlan, the blackdetective saying 'How the f**k do you stay up here? I mean, thesepeople... I go in the store this morning for cigarettes, they got ducksunder the counter.' - to me it is plain he was saying 'The guy ducksunder the counter' (on seeing a black man).

Mark van der Pol 2013-05-17 15:32:08

Where will it end

You are constantly expecting the movie to go into the usual formalisticpatterns, and the director masterfully keeps luring you into thatdirection,only to keep surprising. True to his main character, the movie never letsupor gives in to 'moral correctness', or more damaging to the commercialsuccess of the film, Hollywood's perception of moral acceptability.I am fortunate to have this title on Laserdisc, but understand it isgettinghard to find. Well worth pursuing, if you get a chanceto.

danr51 2013-05-16 13:59:45

ONE WOMAN SHOW

Recently I rented this film, after hearing much glowing reviews about it.The critics were right: Linda Fiorentino gives a superb performance as themanipulative and totally immoral femme fatale who vamps everyone in sight.She imbues the role with sinister intentions and mordant humor. This is afilm noir that for once establishes the female antagonist as the maincharacter, instead of, like BODY HEAT, as second to the maleprotagonist.My problem with this independent production lies with the script. Therearejust a few too many flaws with it, the biggest is that Bridget's characteris written up to be totally smart, while all the rest of the charactersarepresented as ultra dupes. Hence, she has the red carpet and is fully abletoget away with her ruthless schemes. The writers don't seem to recall avital'rule of thumb' in dramatic writing: If your main character is thatintelligent and deadly, then give um worthy opponents. I didn't feel muchsuspense because I already knew that she'd get away with her treacherousplans. There must be some doubt as to whether she'll succeed or not, orelsethere is little or no dramatic tension.In the opening scene, her bumbling boob of a husband, Bill Pullman, isengaged in a drug deal with two New York low life dealers. After he givesthem the drugs, they pull a gun on him, but then leave him the money. Ifthat had been a real situation they would have probably killed him, or, ifnot, they would have certainly not left the money there for him. Perhapsthedirector felt that this would evoke an offbeat humor; instead it alreadystarts to mar the film's credibility.After Bridget absconds with the cash, she ends up in a small upstate hicktown, Beston, and immediately acts rude and abrasive to everyone in sight,drawing much negative attention to herself. Being a fugitive from both thelaw and the mob, this technique is not highly advisable. Someone in hertense position should be keeping a low profile.She meets the small town, heart-of-gold boy, Peter Berg, who couldn't be abigger chump if he tried. No matter what she pulls (and she pulls plenty),he just never seems to catch on. Talk about being blinded bylove.Pullmans's henchman also proves to be a professional sap. He catches upwithher and makes her drive. She starts a penis-length rap with him, asking tosee it. Not only is he dumb enough to go along with her game, but he dropshis guard long enough for her to crash the car, sending him on a B-lineright through the windshield. She is saved by the inflated airbag. Nowtellme, would a real, professional hit man/thug be that stupid?A federal agent is keeping tabs on Bridget outside of her house. So, shebrings some cookies to him, so she can plant a board with nails beside histires. Call me a party pooper, but I don't believe that a true federalofficer (whose job it is to be highly suspicious) would fall for that. Notonly does he accept the cookies, but he eats them as well! He never evensuspects that she might have put something in them?Inconsistencies like this abound throughout. Roger Ebert always referredtothis as the "Idiot Plot Syndrome"; having characters do dumb things toplacethemselves in disadvantaged situations (like the splatter movie victimswhoalways do stupid things to get themselves killed). This isn't suspense,butannoyance, and it only accomplishes the great feat of weakening a story'seffectiveness. This is also a cheesy way of simply moving the plot alongandis usually indicative of lazy writing.Also, we never have even the slightest clue as to why Bridget is as evilasshe is. It isn't enough to say that that is simply the rotten way she is(asthe ads do). That is a stereotypical cop-out and not dramaticallyinvolving.Though we don't need a concise bio, it would have helped to have some clueas to her past. (For example, was she a victim of an abusive family, acrummy background, rape? We never know). Enigma in compelling characterscanbe desirable, but, being that she's the main character, some, even slightinfo, would have been useful. This could have even aided in establishing adangerous sympathy for her. Instead she's an interesting, but criminallyinsane psycho, who you hope gets her comeuppance.Dahl's direction is good, but nothing that outstanding. This film lacksmanyof noir's mysterious visual effectiveness. It is all right, but nothingveryseductive. Also, why does he constantly use that hokey, whimsicalsoundtrack? It's way too cute and it's irritating.I may sound as if I didn't care much for this film, but I still did inspiteof its shortcomings. Fiorentino has proven to be an exceptional actressanddoes more than she can, considering the script's problems. She has astunning, memorable presence and easily could seduce most males withlittleproblem. It's her film all the way, and hence I whole-heartedly recommenditfor that reason alone.

2013-05-16 06:10:37

Not pan & scan: Open matted

... The film was initially shot in the academy ratio (full frame) as a tele-movie. When it's released in theatres it is matted. So the currently-available DVD should be showing the entire frame, not cropped.Still there's no excuse for Artisan's barebone tratement for the title. Not even a trailer is there! We waited so long for it to come out on DVD again and it must be one of the biggest disppointment of the year.

anonymous 2013-05-06 06:10:05

She's a super-bitch, but she does it with class.

This film is simply fantastic. Peter Berg is is brilliantly innocentthroughout the film and Bill Pullman is as gorgeous as ever. LindaFlorentino is perfect for the role. This film has a good script and a veryclever storyline and you can't help but like the scheming femmefatal.

1negevoli 2013-05-06 00:08:32

Totally unbelievable

I resisted renting this movie for all these years but was intriguedfrom time to time by occasional glowing praise of it, so I finally gavein and boy, am I sorry. Nothing wrong with the cast, which did what itcould with a totally unrealistic story, especially Fiorantino. Thismovie did not ring true from the first moment to the last. As a casualfantasy, not worked out, maybe the story works for some people. But itdoes not ring true on any level, which ruins it for me. It's false andphony and I don't understand how it came to be made at all. Since somany comments praised the film, it sort of explains the deplorablestate of Hollywood in the 21st century. The movie stinks.

EasternMafia 2013-04-17 16:18:25

Fantastic movie.

I am sorry, I am late to give a comment here... Woman with a pen? Womanwho thinks? O my, would like to have one! She, 'Linda Fiorentino' isperfect match here. If there is some other actress it will be badproduction. And other actors are mostly great. Peter Berg act a dumbone here, and he is perfect match. Black brunette and the blond guy - ILIKE IT! Tnx to the writer! You have sense of humor. Ten points fromme.Also sex scenes are so great... not to much visual. And I like itconversation be twin sex actions.And the idea about the credit cards, guy from a small town, gayaction... amusing ideas.The quote: She: Will you show me? Black guy: what? She: is it true thatblack has a big? Black guy: so, white woman has a small ass.So funny.

Ed Miseta 2013-04-17 07:10:07

Fall in love with Linda Fiorention

This movie absolutely made me fall in love with Linda Fiorentino.Although more well known for Men In Black Dogma, and Vision Quest, thisis the movie where she was truly able to shine. Linda plays Bridget, awoman from NYC who is on the run after stealing a bag full of drugmoney from her husband (played well by Bill Pullman). She ends up in NYstate near Buffalo, and has to think of a way to get her husband andhis private investigators off her back. She decides to kill him, andfinds a naive local boy to deceive into doing her dirty work.Fiorentino is in charge in this role, powerful, sexy, and very smart.Steamy sex scenes and a wonderful plot keep the film moving at a goodpace. A superb and entirely unexpected ending make this a drama youdon't want to miss. If you enjoy this film, I also recommend Jade (alsowith Fiorentino) and Palmetto.

2013-04-08 00:23:33

Very good in many ways, but not great in any

The femme fatale was a staple of 1940s film noir: an unusually attractive and downright coldhearted woman who knows how to get what she wants by using her own femininity and sexuality to lure unsuspecting men into her trap. She's often the smartest character in the film, able to play everyone else like a piano, and do anything it takes for power and money. The Last Seduction recalls this great archetype and gives us a femme fatale so evil that it's just a joy to watch her operate.Linda Fiorentino plays the woman in question, Bridget Gregory, who right off the bat steals $700,000 from her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), who got that money from illegally selling drugs that was able to acquire as a doctor. Bridget hightails it out of New York City and ends up hiding out in a town called Beston in upstate New York, where she plans to live under an assumed name, Wendy Kroy, until things cool down and she can return to New York.It is in Beston that she meets her patsy, a local man seeking love and affection named Mike (Peter Berg), who falls hard for "Wendy" when he meets her in a bar. Bridget uses Mike for sex, but he constantly tries to pry into her personal life, which she will have no part of. She scares him a bit when she starts talking about killing bad men for money, and when he will not relent with his quest for personal details, she pushes back on him about his secret from when he lived in Buffalo. Despite all of this, Mike cannot resist her charms, but we get the feeling that something bad is going to go down when Clay finally catches up with Bridget--that is, unless she can get to him first.The Last Seduction was directed by John Dahl, and originally played on cable TV after being passed over by distributors. After it proved to be a great success, the film then received a theatrical release--quite an unusual scenario. At any rate, this is a very good film with some excellent characters. Bridget is the kind of character that you love to hate, because she manages to manipulate situations so well, and even though she's diabolical, you have to give her credit, because she's damn smart and she knows exactly what she's doing.However, I make a judgment on recommending a film based on whether I would add the movie to my DVD collection, and with this film, I didn't feel any special desire to do so. It's clever, but it's not overwhelming clever. It's thrilling in parts, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat. It's funny sometimes, but my chuckles never escalated to a guffaw. And while it makes the viewer think while watching it, afterwards there isn't much reflection to be done. But if you're looking to be entertained for a couple of hours, you could do a lot worse than The Last Seduction.

2013-04-07 11:42:22

Last Seduction was shot full-frame!

To the reviewer who wrote "Buyer Beware," this film was shot for HBO -- in the full-frame format. Hence, no widescreen on the DVD. The way it looks on Artisan's DVD is the way it's supposed to look. Full-screen does NOT always mean pan-and-scan!

AmsterdamReprobate 2013-04-03 14:33:13

My Kind Of Happy Ending.

As a European writer of crime fiction I often lament the contrived 'happyendings' of most American movies, so I was pleased with The Last Seduction,and its main character Bridget Gregory, a bitch who not only goes unpunishedfor her cruel and heartless behaviour, but is actually rewarded for herskill in manipulating the hapless men around her. Fiorentino's sardonicportrayal of Bridget is fantastic, you can see the gears of manipulationturning behind every calculating look she casts around. And instead ofmaking her evil, this just makes her intelligent and ruthless, something alot of women would like to be. A highly enjoyable movie.

2013-04-03 10:06:54

Noir, but with a difference

This fine film is a Noir but with a critical difference: the femme fatale gets away with it. Sorry about the spoiler! But the point is instructive, as a perusal of the film noirs of a generation ago always end with the femme fatale getting her comeuppance. This was likely due to the prevailing cultural norms would not stand for a smart woman using brains and sex to get what she wanted. Scary! So now we have this vicious Bridget eating the hapless Mike alive and getting her brutal revenge on her equally snake-like husband. I don't think she's a likeable or admirable character but deep down I'm thinking "yesss!!!". A very provocative movie (in every sense of the word) with excellent performances and great old-style noir dialogue, updated for our current world.

2013-03-25 01:05:18

Great, great movie

Perhaps I love this movie so much simply beacuse I just now happened upon it. I hadn't heard of it, and now I see that it came out in 2002. Wow, where was I? This is one twisted chick in one twisted film. The thing that obviously attracts us to the female character is her beauty, and brains. No one could be this evil and still have men chasing her without "something." And the "something" is that she's sexy as can be--a real knock-out. The scene in the bar where she checks out Berg's equipment under the table can't be beat. A sort of outdoing of "Sally Met Harry" for 2002. Berg plays it cool, and the great "secret" of his life is finally revealed toward the end of the movie.If you enjoy movies where you don't know how things are going to turn out, check out THE LAST SEDUCTION as it will fill all your needs.

2013-03-24 13:31:57

Why the LAST Seduction?

This broad is a pro with no moral sense. A manipulator with no heart or conscience. Except for the murder aspect I'd say I see her in action in my social settings every day. Good movie about a particular type of woman.

helpless_dancer 2013-03-18 08:48:52

Sex and greed equals no romance

I loved this one because I couldn't get over the heights of carnality andthe depths of sociopathic evil the characters were capable of achieving.Linda Fiorentino played perhaps the most despicably rotten, heartless,conniving, using bitch I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Pullman wasgreat as the reaper of retribution intent on giving evil for evil. PeterBerg may have stolen the show with his total inability to say no to his owndestruction. It was hard to believe the abyss of stupidity these 2 dopes hadthe capacity to plumb. Guess that's what happens when the little head takesover the thought processes for the big head, eh? The picture started out alittle slow but developed into a real blowout with a jaw dropping finale.All the folks got exactly what they deserved. All of them.

2013-03-17 16:23:53

Injustice to Great Film! Not Widescreen/ Poor Print Quality

This is a fantastic modern film noir...I won't repeat the praise other reviewer's have already given it. I am disappointed the DVD was released in Full Screen only, and the print quality leaves something to be desired. It's a 5 star film on a 3 star DVD. Lets hope it gets re-released in a format more befitting a great film.

milliesdad 2013-03-14 18:47:16

I don't think I have ever despised any movie as much as this one.

Okay. I know that there are very few roles in which women can reallyshine.. .And it's admirable that this movie gives a fine actress plenty todo.But go back and watch it carefully. To steal a phrase from Leonard Maltin(in reference to another movie), "The Last Seduction" has plot holes thatHannibal could have marched the elephants through.Also, it's pretty repulsive the way this movie encourages the audience tocheer on the cruelty of this woman. Think about it. This film has beenlauded for its main character's lack of hypocrisy by being totally cruel...Using that same logic, I have an idea! Let's have a movie where Hitler isthe hero because he never deviates from his murderous plans. He defiesallsense of morality and logic to get what he wants. He murders, and he putsthe blame on others.Nah. It would never sell. I guess critical acclaim all depends on who'sdoing the killing.

Janos Smal 2013-03-14 13:43:57

The Last Seduction

After a successful swindle, a ruthless and manipulative woman cheats bothher husband and her new noodle boyfriend.Tough, blackly comic, extremely clever film noir thriller from a directorparticularly enthusiastic about the genre; graced by a tightly constructedscript scintillating of demotic, quick-fire wit and surprises, plusFiorentino's wonderfully bitchy performance.

oneguyrambling 2013-03-11 20:16:50

Not a "Happy" film, but a pretty good one.

If films like Body Heat, Red Rock West and Romeo Is Bleeding teach usone thing, it is never trust women under any circumstances whatsoever.Ever. I realise that the same director made this and Red Rock West, hemust either really love women or really hate them. I can't tell.Linda Fiorentino plays Bridget, and with apologies to the conniving,self centred and occasionally psycho b*tches in the above films, shemay be the most diabolical.Bridget is a telemarketing supervisor, but when I say she is asupervisor she supervises in the same vein as Alec Baldwin does inGlengarry Glen Ross. If I worked under her I would either quit or punchher out on the first day, and without being over PC she deserves morethe latter.After a hard day being boss-bitch she goes home to her hubbie Clay(Bill Pullman). Clay (following plans devised by Bridget), has made alucrative deal selling illicit pharmaceuticals to naughty types as aside project to his apparently selling illegal prescriptions.The deal has netted them $700,000 (remember this is 1994, so that'd bearound 2.5M in today's bucks), and although the plan worked it didn'tgo entirely like clockwork. As a result Bill is a little bit wound up,and some ill-advised words by Bridget get her a slap, which doesn't godown well with her.Now it's hard to tell if this was pre-planned - given what she doeslater I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was - but Bridget decides todo a runner with the cash while Clay takes a shower. This would beannoying at the best of times, but Clay financed his dodgy deal bytaking money from a loan shark, and one who has a nasty habit of metingout punishment to thumbs and other digits that require medicaltreatment.Bridget seems to have been in similar trouble before, as the firstperson she calls when she pauses for breath is a lawyer, and during theconvo they discuss back and forth her options and the ramifications ifClay catches up with her. It is decided that she should not spend themoney, but seek a divorce from Clay and hold onto the non-traceablecash until then.Easier said than done.Rather than head to her comfort zone where Clay would obviously trackher down, Bridget settles in a smaller country area where he wouldn'tthink to look, changes her name and gets a job at an insurance firm.By now we fully realize that Bridget (now Wendy) is an opportunisticshark, totally self absorbed and fairly foul mouthed. She startsbanging a local guy named Mike, who turns out has been burnt badly by ashort lived marriage and desperately wants out of town. He sees Wendyas a ticket out, assuming that she is worldly and can help him.Mike might be a trifle naïve, but he coincidentally works at the samefirm and once he knows this he latches onto Wendy for dear life, in thehope that she might love him back.By this stage we should know better, and if Mike had been watching tilnow he would have passed this chance up and saved himself a lot ofbother.I'm not sure if the movie initially set out to make Bridget/Wendy ananti hero. She has precious few redeeming qualities and every tidbit ofinformation gets stored somewhere in her memory to be used against theprovider later. Even when she is lying low she is actively planningother means of making a quick buck or improving her situation.Of course Mike would be better served not trusting anything that Wendysaid and staying the hell away from her... especially when she wasbeing nice to him.But then we would not have had a movie.The one thing that can be said in her favour is that most of the timeshe doesn't pretend that she is anything but a b*tch, and in a strangegender role reversal it seems that Mike feels that he can change her –dumb.Ever vigilant Wendy sees an opportunity to make another killing byidentifying a flaw in the insurance company's data, meanwhile Clay getsever closer to tracking her down.The finale shows just how far Wendy will go to get her way, and it is alooooonnnnngggg way folks. I won't ruin it here, and it is a little toocosy for my liking, but if you can ignore a couple of luckycoincidences it makes for an effective film.Bill Pullman is solid as Clay, and Fiorentino is ideal as the cold anddispassionate Wendy/Bridget, the role was so well written and clearlydefined other actresses might have been as effective – though few mighthave gone as far with it! Peter Berg plays Mike as a little too naïve,but not nearly stupid or desperate enough to get publicly andemotionally flogged by a woman - no matter how hot she was. I justcouldn't buy that a goodlooking guy with an important role in a largefirm and no noticeable flaws or shortcomings (aside from blind trust)could put himself in the situation that he does. But I guess Hollywoodwould rather have pretty actors than someone more fitting, I wouldthink a young Steve Buscemi might have been just pathetic andbelievable enough.Final Rating – 7 / 10. Like "In the Company of Men", it is refreshingto see someone take a risk and play an irredeemable character. Not a"happy" movie, but a pretty good one if you can ignore some plot holesnear the end.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check outoneguyrambling.com

2013-03-11 03:34:49

Fiorentino is One Clever Dame!

While considered modern noir the film is heavy on plot twists and it has one of the meanest femme fatales in movie history. Linda Fiorentino gives the performance of a lifetime and is a joy to watch, but, to my surprise, the supporting cast was also good, especially Bill Pulman. Nicely directed with a great script and some unexpected plot twists. But the backbone of the film is Linda Fiorentino, she is the ultimate bad-girl. This film became a cult hit on cable. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!