This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Concerned that her husband might be having an affair, a middle aged woman begins to investigate his suspicious recent behaviour, only to discover a greater conspiracy than she could have ever imagined in this slick thriller starring Goldie Hawn and John Heard. The film is well known as Hawn's first non-comedy movie, though Heard is arguably more impressive, always seeming just a little bit menacing, even if he goes way over-the-top in his final few scenes. Whatever the case, the film's best asset is Thomas Newman's atmospheric music score, which creates a genuine sense of unease at several key points. As for the story at hand, it is not exactly first-rate. Unresolved plot points and gaps in the narrative abound; Hawn also seems to get hold of all the information she needs with unbelievable ease, whether it be a school records lady bending the rules for her or complete strangers conveniently letting her into their home. The film also overplays its hand a little by including a second unexpected deception by her husband late in the piece that only raises unanswered questions about his true motives and the way his mind operates. If one does not focus too much on story specifics though, the film could be considered a decent ride. There are some very effective chase sequences and suspense scenes in which characters are voyeuristically viewed by an unseen intruder. The novelty of having Hawn in a dramatic role cannot be discounted either. This may have not been the best script for her to highlight her potential as a drama actress, but she is certainly convincing.

The immediate reaction to watching this stylish psychological thriller is to question why Goldie Hawn didn't feature in more movies of this type. Her seemingly natural ability to convey the types of shock, confusion and distress that her character feels as she uncovers some of her husband's long-held secrets is extraordinary and equally impressive is the way in which she displays a combination of strength and vulnerability that's absolutely convincing. At various points in the story, she shows fear, determination and horror as she gradually recognises the full extent of her husband's treachery and in so doing, highlights aspects of her talent that were never able to be shown in her numerous comedy roles.Goldie Hawn isn't the only reason for watching this movie, however, as it's also well-directed visually strong and frequently suspenseful.Adrienne (Goldie Hawn) is a successful art restorer who meets museum curator Jack Saunders (John Heard) at her workplace. This is an apparent coincidence, as the night before, at a restaurant, she'd mistaken him for the man she was supposed to be meeting on a blind date where she was stood-up. The couple get married and for six years enjoy what seems to be the perfect marriage. Things change though, after one of Jack's colleagues, who was examining an ancient Egyptian necklace at the time, is murdered and Jack believes that the finger of suspicion is being pointed at him.Around the same time, Adrienne finds various pieces of evidence which indicate that Jack had lied to her about his whereabouts etc. but her smooth-talking husband always manages to come up with some sort of explanation. After one such occasion, they argue and a little while after he leaves their apartment, she's informed by the police that he's been killed in a car accident. Some time later, through some information that she's given by her social security office, it comes to light that Jack had been using a false identity for many years and so Adrienne decides to carry out her own investigation to discover the truth about the man she knew as Jack. This puts her and her five-year-old daughter in great danger as she gradually uncovers the staggering scale of her husband's duplicity.John Heard does well as the very conventional and respectable-looking Jack and conveys his character's combination of superficial charm and coldness very effectively. The threatening atmosphere that builds up as the movie progresses is also skilfully developed with Adrienne being placed in locations (dark corridors etc.) which accentuate her vulnerability and director Damian Harris having some fun by startling his audience at various junctures with the help of a screeching cat and some fluttering pigeons etc. "Deceived" may not be ground-breaking material but it is very enjoyable, nicely-twisted and extremely well-paced.

Single Manhattan art restorer Adrienne (Hawn) is stood up on a blind date in a restaurant but sees Jack Saunders - a charming man at another table. They meet where she works the next day as he drops off a piece to be restored. He is a museum curator. They have a lot in common and their 'meet-cute' evolves into a date and they more than hit it off. After a whirlwind courtship they are married.Flash-forward five years and they remain happily together with an adorable daughter. Their business interests coincide and they share a group of like-minded friends/co-workers as well as a chic and cozy apartment in a trendy neighborhood and enough to afford a young housekeeper. They don't appear to have it all but seem to have everything worth having and about as much as anyone should realistically ask for out of life.Things take a dramatic turn for the worse when the resident expert appraiser (Rubes) at the museum is found dead by Adrienne. It is an apparent suicide. This coincides with the discovery that a necklace in the museum worth $4.5 million is a forgery. A number of suspicious events Jack explains away to Adrienne with perfectly rational answers precedes an argument, a frank declaration of not feeling trusted and his departure from their home.Jack almost immediately perishes in a fiery car wreck leaving Adrienne a grieving and perplexed widow raising a very young daughter without a father. Her suspicions about him are momentarily obscured by having to explain death to her child and begin life anew with a gaping chasm once filled by a man who beguiled her so completely and capably handled so many responsibilities for her and their daughter.Those suspicions arise again exacerbated by revelations that the man she thought she knew was a different person altogether. The web of falsehoods is bold but not particularly intricate. The man who weaved them was also not very smooth or even adequately careful in many different aspects of his plan. Adrienne needs do little more than some elementary sleuthing following each massive lead to the conclusion.The shock for the heroine and the viewer rests in how much of a commitment the baddie makes in playing it all out and what he was prepared to leave behind in seeing it through. His play was a long-haul deception measured and executed over years leaving him no room for emotional attachments. This is a criminal type looking for his only big score before he takes early retirement.At any point he might have become seduced by the lie he was living and decided to abandon his material long-term objective to enjoy what he had. But a creature like this doesn't have the capacity to appreciate the things that normal people do or understand their value.John Heard's performance transitioning between being Prince Charming to volatile monster is convincing at all stages of his metamorphosis. When he begins haunting his own house while only pretending to be dead there is a strong vibe of eeriness. He appears to be something vastly different than human though not quite demonic or alien.A surprise hit in fall 1991 it marked the beginning of the late stage of Goldie Hawn's erratic but nevertheless quite successful career in feature films. She was in her mid-40's playing a character at least a decade younger. Whether the role suits her or not she at least was in something. She has only been in 31 productions. The English director Damian Harris has himself only made a dozen movies in 30 years.Beatrice Straight's last movie.Partly filmed at Toronto's world-renowned Royal Ontario Museum one may view an exterior shot of the beautiful old building before it was vandalized when a glass modern architecture monstrosity was erected on the Northwest wing facing Bloor Street. It's slanted glass remains a delightful canvas for the modern art the Toronto pigeon and seagull population craft upon it with their feces.

This movie is a mystery with plenty of twists, but the real star is Goldie Hawn's performance. I find it hard to believe that she has not done more of this type of movie.The major problem I had with this movie was the big fat plot holes, namely how you get a car to flip with a dead guy driving or how a guy that works in town gets away with a second family, or if he was Daniel, then who was fencing the rare Egyptian jewelry, or why didn't she fall down the hole too? Too many leaps of faith are expected of the audience and exactly why I did not rate this movie higher. I did, however, enjoy the "New York" ambiance, the sets and the wardrobe (which was not too embarrassing from the early 90's). Goldie could try another hairstyle though, really, it was a little distracting remembering that it has not changed since her Sock It To Me days. All in all, it was fun to watch and it does jump your heart a few times, just as a good thriller should. Definitely worth watching for Goldie's performance alone.