A Perfect Murder (1998)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

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.

As with all of Michael Douglas's films, this one is brilliant and amazingly acted. It's a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder," but done very well. The movie suffers not in the least when compared to Hitch's version. If anything, it's a better picture. It obviously had a bigger budget. It's not nearly as mannered and static. The plot has been extensively updated, except for one key scene involving a telephone. Its failings are due to the same elements which bothered Hitch. The play is close to being a potboiler. Still, in the new version, the makers were smart enough to employ film techniques which tend to gloss over the script's weaknesses.Michael Douglas plays a great role as a stern, hard businessman. I have to admit that he is almost sexy in his portrayal. Gwyneth Paltrow seems comfortable in her role as a victimized heiress. Viggo Mortensen makes a good grungy artist. And David Suchet of Inspector Poirot is an excellent actor. We get to see him without the mustache. Actually, this is the type of movie that lends itself to being just a short play since most of the action takes place in just two apartments. The movie is set in New York city, and the director manages to work in a few local attractions such as Penn Station, the Staten Island Ferry, some skylines, and some museums. But the New York scenes are just a bonus, like icing on a cake, and the movie really hangs on the stars and their interactions. It is a good drama with some surprising turns.Overall rating: 8 out of 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.