THE RICH MAN'S WIFE
A film review by Michael Redman
Copyright 1996 Michael Redman
* (out of ****)
There's not much worse than expending mental energy trying to follow and solve a poorly executed thriller. About the only thing I can think of is if the film ending lets you know that you wasted your time because it was all a fraud.
Here we have the worst of both possible scenarios.
Josie Potenza (Halle Berry) is trapped in a loveless marriage or maybe it's not: it's hard to tell if even this is true. Because of a pre-nup, if she divorces her rich husband, she gets none of his wealth and having his money is an important concern to her. She is befriended by Cole Wilson (Peter Greene), a creepy psycho, who takes seriously their conversation in a bar that she could have her husband murdered for the insurance money.
Maybe this happened; you never know for sure. Remember that sentence because it applies to everything I will say about the plot.
Wilson kills husband Tony (Christopher McDonald) in what is the only worthwhile scene in the film. Filmed at night in the rain, he shoots his prey repeatedly with a gun that continually alternates firing and jamming. The victim runs, stumbles, is shot again and again in a frighteningly desperate spectacle. This appears to be a realistic murder or at least the makings of a nightmare and is wasted in the middle of what is otherwise a piece of trash.
After the killing, there rest of the film is a torturous slow-moving mumbo-jumbo of Wilson stalking Josie who seeks help from her lover while a couple of the stupidest members of the police force try to solve the mystery.
None of the main actors offer anything that has not been done better in many other movies. The only stand-out is the ditzy ex-wife (Clea Lewis) of Jose's lover who livens up the otherwise gray tale for her three minutes of screen time.
The film is filled with a zillion twists and turns that, in the hands of a more skilled director and writer, could have been the basis for something more interesting. In this film, they are just the foundation for a "Who cares?" attitude as the plot holes engulf the entire movie.
The most disappointing of all is the ending which is obviously meant to make the audience feel that something clever has been accomplished on the part of the plot. Instead it completely invalidates everything that has gone on before.
A despicable story with a cheat for an ending. If you have any inclination to see this, do anything else (and I mean __anything__ else: take the dog for a walk, do your dishes, go to the dentist) and youll have a better time. When the video comes out in about two weeks; rent it, fast-forward to the murder scene and watch the five minutes of decent filmmaking and do not succumb to the temptation to view the rest. Your life will be better for it.
[This appeared in the 9/19/96 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be reached at mredman@bvoice.com]
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