A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Martha Horgan, a naive woman with an intellectual impairment who lives with her aunt Frances in a small town, is known for always telling the truth. She works at a dry cleaner, where her compulsive truth-telling leads her to report to the boss that another employee has been stealing from the cash register.Janet Maslin wrote, "A Dangerous Woman is soap opera... With Ms. Winger's eerily convincing performance as its centerpiece, the film creates a world of sexual chicanery that would do any television series proud... The film has been given an appealingly languid and intimate mood by the director, Stephen Gyllenhaal." This is pretty much it. Winger does a fine job in the lead role, but she seems to be too good for the movie they have put her in. The plot is not very exciting, and once we get to a point where it has potential everything is already winding down. Gabriel Byrne is a good actor, but does not seem to be really giving much effort here. Did this have a theatrical release? It seems more like a made-for-cable movie.

Seriously, I thought it was just gonna be about a nerdy woman who just wants to get on with life as does the rest of us!Instead there was too many stupid scene's, it was always concentrating on her neighbors who do a lot of crime.No wonder she began to become a screwball in the end, everyone was turning into circus animals.I had to even skip a few scenes because some of it was just too long and boring. Man, I haven't seen any fun watching this, I'm probably gonna have nightmares about this movie, it is just terrible!I wish to be given this a 0 rating as it deserves nothing!

Debra Winger is at her most mercurial portraying a mentally-challenged woman who becomes involved in a murder. This adaptation of Mary McGarry Morris' novel is difficult viewing--mainly because the protagonist can be such a handful--though director Stephen Gyllenhaal lends the material an intense, compelling flourish, and the results are ideal for audiences interested in something left of center. Gyllenhaal, who was creating quite a resume for himself in the mid-1990s before eventually turning to TV (our loss), bulldozes right through the screenplay's messy structure and barrage of hot-headed characters, and he's very sensitive when handling magnetic Winger, who does remarkable work. Incredible supporting cast includes Barbara Hershey, Gabriel Byrne, Chloe Webb, David Strathairn, Jan Hooks and Laurie Metcalf. **1/2 from ****

This is a good movie - not as good as the book, but still a very good movie. Debra Winger plays Martha Horgan, a mentally disabled young woman who lives with her beautiful Aunt Frances (the always ethereal Barbara Hershey). Martha works at a dry cleaning shop, where she is framed for stealing money by the sleazy Getso (David Strathairn). Getso is the boyfriend of Martha's best (and only) friend Birdie, played by Chloe Webb. Martha sets out to prove her innocence. This is furthermore complicated by Gabriel Byrne's sexy handyman, who Martha falls in love with."A Dangerous Woman" is believable and the acting is wonderful. Not as good as the book, but still a very good movie.