Truly Dreadful Film

How sad is this?

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This happens to be a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock 1954 classic "A Perfect Murder". Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen star in this suspense-filled thriller about a love triangle between a rich businessman, his wife and a struggling artist.A Wall Street businessman who is currently in financial trouble has a wife,who is currently committing adultery with a struggling artist.The business Steven Taylor knows about her wife Emily's affair with the artist named David Shaw.So he decides to plan the perfect murder of killing his wife with David as a co-conspirator by paying him half a million - $100,000 now and $400,000 after Emily gets killed.The so-called perfect murder did not materialize and it did create complications among the characters involved.The movie was made almost 20 years ago.With regards to the suspense,it definitely delivered as the viewer get surprised with both the tension and the unpredictability that the screenplay has that started after the so-called "perfect murder" failed when Emily wasn't killed.That itself made the movie interesting especially on how Steven,Emily and David would end up and how their relationship with one another develop in the end.As for that performances, Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow were definitely great as husband and wife especially with the tension and mistrust that developed after an attempt on Emily was made and how each one was able to figure out the other.Overall,it was an exciting and tension-filled thriller that a viewer who loves these type of films would surely enjoy.

Pay homage to a masterpiece, but do so very well.Hitchcock notoriously flaunted incredulity with his plots, didn't care how implausible the story was. He got away with it because he used cinema as an instrument for emotionally impacting the audience.APM, on the other hand, strives for credulity to obtain audience involvement. It tries hard to eliminate all plot holes but then leaves a gaping one: A spacious luxury apartment with only a kitchen telephone--no extension phones, no cell phone--just that lonely wall phone. The writer took liberties with all other aspects of this Dial M For Murder makeover, so why the strict adherence to replication of Grace Kelly's late-night phone-answering attack? In 1954, most homes had one phone but not so in 1998.Also, director Levinson asks (and gets) the audience to sympathize with the unfaithful Gwyneth Paltrow for much of the film, just as Hitchcock was able to have the audience side with the adulterous Grace Kelly in DMFM. Hitchcock managed to carry Kelly's vulnerability throughout; however, Levinson presents a Paltrow at the end who's cunning and perfectly capable of murdering her would-be murderous husband. Vulnerability was the one saving grace left to the wayward Paltrow. Without it, she became the equal of Viggo Mortensen and Michael Douglas, two morally bankrupt characters. (And Paltrow screaming at Douglas hardly enhanced her likability.) If the viewer was to grant Paltrow forgiveness, they needed to see her as deserving. This film succeeded in casting and camera work. It's a shame that the director couldn't have paid closer attention to plausibility. Hitchcock didn't have to, but all others must.

A sense of class and sophistication prevails with dominance in this free remake of "Dial M for Murder" (1954), qualities also present in the Hitchcock film but this one has a sexier and bold quality that appeals to current audiences. Whatever the case, both films are outstanding in their own ways. Simple and safe, without many complex layers to its plot, Michael Douglas plays a problematic yet controlled rich man who wants to kill his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and he asks her lover (Viggo Mortensen) to do the job, but it all gets messy when the man hires a third part for the task who fails with his service. In terms of thrills and chills, "A Perfect Murder" brings back all the energy Andrew Davis has given us with his greatest film, the classic "The Fugitive". Each scene goes by and you wonder what's gonna happen next, the excitement is there, positively enjoyable and never losing the rhythm. A gifted master in creating the perfect scenario for all the intrigue, the plan and the murders, Davis uses of elaborated sequences that rings a Hitchcock touch but with better effect and not so showy like some of Brian De Palma's homages. Shots and plans are in that way for a reason (close-up of a random object that later on reveals its importance) and their use are simply great. Watch more than once and you'll know what I'm talking about. It gets better at each view. As for the cast, he got it right again. You love to hate Michael Douglas in those roles, effortless but completely magnetic, powerful and with a certain charm that captivates the whole way through. Like Ray Milland in that classic, you sort of like want this man to succeed with his frightening plans. Gwyneth is there because no one else then could fit the role with that measured sweetness. I tried to look back at the female stars of the 1990's and couldn't think of one name that could adapt well into that criteria as the Hitchcockian blonde, in this case a more vulnerable one. Viggo has all the right qualities to play the third man, the young artist/lover with a mysterious past inclined to serve the money coming from his "enemy" instead of saving the love of his life. However, the performance that steals the show is the one given by David Suchet as the detective behind the case. Usually the villain or playing Hercule Poirot, Suchet carries a weight that works with a sense of amazement and reality, with a character dealing with some internal problems that are seen by Gwyneth's character with thoughtful respect - their exchange in a foreign language is pure charm and greatness. Today's thrillers don't have the same quality and class "A Perfect Murder" has. It's all about being fast, furious and more edgy in certain aspects, and that doesn't always work, it usually makes it look poor developed. Rewatching this film was like rediscovering a time and a genre that didn't need constant plot twists to make it more effective - it had some but they're all brilliantly executed. Call me nuts but there's pure excellence in this film. Too bad that Mr. Davis never got back on top like that again. But I still hope for more. 10/10

A Perfect Murder is a remake of the famous Alfred Hitchcock classic Dial M For Murder with Michael Douglas, Gwynneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortenson, and David Suchet cast in the roles that Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Bob Cummings, and John Williams played in the original. From a nice set piece English crime story, it's now in late 20th century America where Douglas is doing another version of Gordon Gekko.Though Douglas might have made his own money like Gekko in this film he marries a lot more of it in Paltrow and his own financial empire is crashing around him. He needs unfettered control of her cash flow and this is the way to do it. And poor Paltrow admits during the course of the film she didn't sign a pre-nuptial agreement. Foolish woman.The biggest change is in the Cummings role. Viggo Mortenson is not a strong shoulder to cry on like Bob Cummings was for Grace Kelly. No he's part of Douglas's scheme though how I won't reveal.What I liked about Dial M For Murder was that it was not a whodunit. It was will the police put it together and free Grace Kelly. And instead of one gruesome murder we get a few of them here.No complaints about any of the players, but I'd stick with Hitch.