THE LAST SEDUCTION
A film review by Jon A. Webb
Copyright 1995 Jon A. Webb
THE LAST SEDUCTION is a clever film, one of those stories where you know not quite everything but think you do, so that you eagerly follow the plot down some false paths and discover to your delight that things didn't turn out that way at all--something like, say, DEATHTRAP but not quite so deceptive.
Linda Fiorentino plays a woman whose self-possessed, bitchy behavior must be seen to be believed--and it's a lot of fun to watch. Fiorentino creates a memorable character here, who I hope to see again (ANOTHER SEDUCTION, maybe?) The movie opens with her driving the men in a telephone boiler room almost crazy in pushing them to sell fraudulent commemorative coins; her behavior here sets the tone for the rest of the film, though she is really restraining herself in this scene, if you can believe it.
The direction, by John Dahl, is quite clever, leading from one point of trickery by Fiorentino's character to another, and touching now and then on the earnest stupidity of her husband (played by Bill Pullman, who has never managed to hold on to a woman in any film he's been in, so far as I can recall. He's a little less Mr. Nice Guy here, but he's still not nearly a match for Fiorentino's character. One gets the impression she married him just because he was easy to manipulate.)
Peter Berg plays the object of the seduction. He's a nice straight country kid, more or less the same character he played in THE ACCUSED. It's an acceptable performance, but it would've been nice if he'd been able to throw in something extra given the strength of Fiorentino's character. I would've liked to see a moment of awareness that maybe she was just leading him on, then "Naww...."
I liked Linda Fiorentino's performance very much. She reminded me of Michelle Forbes in her great parts in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and KALIFORNIA, though I understand that Fiorentino has a sort of trademark on this kind of role. Forbes would have been interesting in this part, too--her physical strength would have contrasted better, I think, in the places where the character has to pretend to be shy and sexually repressed.
I thought the caricature of small-town life a little broad (everyone says hello, etc.) but liked the bit about black men.
One thing I really liked about the film is how the strength of Firentino's character is so impressive that you end up rooting for her in the end--in spite of her being the embodiment of evil. It's great when an actress can turn things around like that.
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