Yar, you be here: A Perfect Murder > Customer Reviews

A Perfect Murder Customer Reviews (16 - 18 of 26 Reviews)

A Perfect Murder
A Perfect Murder is a re-make of the Hitchcock film, "Dial M for Murder." Steven Taylor, played by Michael Douglas, pays David, an artist played by Viggo Montenson, to kill his wife Emily, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Emily and David are having a affair. The plan seems perfect, but is it? The murder is thwarted and the rules change. There is much suspense, and the plot contains several twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Douglas, Paltrow, and Mortenson do excellent jobs with their roles. The DVD contains commentary by the director and Michael Douglas. It also has an alternate ending that I don't think works as well as the one in the theatrical release. "A Perfect Murder" is a very good movie.

Perfectly Entertaining
A tightly plotted, beautifully mounted updating of Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" that grabs your attention during the opening credits and doesn't let go until the final scene. Douglas, Paltrow, and Mortensen are all superbly cast in their roles. Each plays a character whose true nature and motives are revealed slowly, in sometimes astonishing layers, and the film works as well as it does in large part because each actor gives a carefully nuanced performance that retains consistency despite the twists and turns of the intricate plot.

The DVD transfer is just about flawless, with crisp, sharp visuals and pure sound. The alternate ending is the kind of bonus material that makes the DVD format so exciting for cinema buffs but the absence of the theatrical trailer is a big disappointment. Still, this movie is recommended for fans of Douglas, Paltrow, and the mystery-thriller genre. (And trivia buffs will want to watch for David Eigenberg of TV's "Sex and the City" as one of Douglas' employees.)

Featuring a two-fisted Gwyneth Paltrow
This quasi-remake of Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954)--which was filmed in 3D, by the way--is a rather good thriller in its own right, intelligently done throughout except for a few scenes near the end when Director Andrew Davis and screenwriter Patrick Smith Kelly lose their judgment and opt for a silly knock down, drag out fight.

Michael Douglas plays a quintessential evil kind of guy, evil, ruthless, greedy, two-faced, crafted to excite our loathing (“How’s THIS for wet work?”). He is excellent. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his very rich wife who has incredibly poor taste in men. Seems that Gwyneth has become attracted to roles that get her involved with the wrong kind of guys, witness The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Sliding Doors (1998). But she is also very good, as is Viggo Mortensen who plays the murderous con artist.

The plot is tight and filled with nice twists. The sets are opulent and dripping with money, and neither the direction nor the camera work calls undue attention to itself. But what really makes this fly is the material on which it is based, the devilishly clever play by Frederick Knott, who reigned on Broadway many years ago. I’ll bet that Paltrow was persuaded in part to take the role because the same part was played in the Hitchcock movie by the legendary Grace Kelly. Also, another Frederick Knott play made into a movie was Wait Until Dark (1967) starring the also legendary Audrey Hepburn. I suspect Paltrow could hardly resist joining such illustrious company, especially when the plot here allows her to take matters into her own hands, as it were, and give to her two guys considerably more than she gets.

Bottom line: you will be diverted.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Next Page