Crimes of Passion (2005)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Fresh and Exciting

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

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

Very well-acted and suspenseful story that heaps on the surprises and is full of suspense.Dina Meyer is superb as a sexy, back-stabbing ice queen who has made a career of filing sexual-harassment suits. Awww.....She can't help it she's so gorgeous!Jonathan Higgins is very entertaining as Jerry, an emotionally unstable, alcoholic philanderer who erroneously thinks he's smarter than everyone else.Amy Sloan does well as Jerry's beleaguered wife, despite being saddled with the familiar role of the Lifetime heroine who triumphs in the end.John H. Brennan, looking like a perfectly coiffed and manicured soap-opera star, is a little too handsome to have been cast as a venal investigator but he excels in the slimy part.I loved Harry Standjofski and Can Anvar as dueling lawyers. Their acerbic back-and-forth made for some exceptionally sparkling dialogue. Vlasta Vrana also maintained interest in the small but interesting role of a businessman reluctant to get screwed by his subordinates.In addition to the interesting if sometimes superficial characterizations here, this film features several truly creepy, suspenseful sequences. I am not too proud to admit they had me hiding my eyes!In all, this was much, much better than I expected for a Lifetime film.

This movie was full of action and I stayed up until 3 in the morning to see the end unfortunately it all went down the drain. In the end every interesting character is dead while the whiny and annoying Ex-wife walks away free with all of the money. Like any good book, if the ending stinks then it wasn't worth reading in the first place. Yes she is supposed to be a victim in all of this, but I could not find any way to feel sorry for her. She only came across as needy and impossible to please. Don't get me wrong, great movie with plenty of action and plot twists, but the ending ruins it for me. I would have been happy if at least Jonathan Higgins had lived and just went to prison. The way it went just totally turned me off.

The bare outline of this story is familiar, as several reviewers have noted. But many successful theatrical thrillers also tread familiar narrative ground. The thriller is a genre that covers a relatively limited range of plot lines, but we don't mind, provided the story has some element of originality, the characters are engaging and the direction is well paced and properly suspenseful. It's unfortunate that the brief description of the plot contained on some venues already gives away the central twist. Still, there's enough left to keep the viewer engaged. The acting is uneven, from the typical Lifetime amateurishness to a few professional performances, especially in this case from Amy Sloan, playing the wife of the male lead. But what kept this viewer engaged was the story line, which was good enough for a theatrical release - IF a bigger budget, a better director and better actors were provided. Nonetheless, this movie is far better than what we expect from Lifetime. The plot line, even when sometimes predictable, never drags and the twists, even when anticipated, somehow work. Crimes of Passion is worth your time.

Some Lifetime flicks drag in spots - this one does - but "Crimes of Passion" is more fascinating, overall, than most, and does provide serpentine twists at the conclusion. These, and decent performances by the four primary characters, make it worth watching through to the end, despite some occasional convoluted plot developments and the above-mentioned "drag."One of the two primary leads, Jonathan Higgins, could be called "a poor man's Nicolas Cage." He bears resemblance to the latter, and Nicholas is often low-key and a bit off-center in his characterizations, as is Higgins, but with just a proportion of Cage's talent, and none of his charisma. He's also not in the best of mental health, and throughout (especially when attempting to reach his out-of-town shrink towards the end), seems like what "Monk" might be, were he to engage in criminality (but sans Tony Shalhoub's personality and talent level).**** Spoiler following ****I would add this to conform to this site's requirements, and this might perhaps provide information as to the ending -- however, I don't believe it would really "spoil" it, and might serve to encourage some who might change channels to watch to conclusion.Married leads "A" and "B" are splitting-up; she appears at times during the opus to claim her needed stipends from hubby, and they banter nervously and loudly throughout. But "A" has conspired with the winsome "C," to gain a large wad of cash, however, unfortunately, professional investigator "D" has knowledge of their deed and windfall, and wants a major cut.But ----- "C" is really in cahoots with "D," and, near the climax, this is revealed to "A." In the ensuing tussle, "D" if offed, and then, as "A" and "C" are about to have some sort of showdown, all of a sudden "B" appears at the remote locale. She's the only one not preciously involved in the nefarious activities, but she possesses the means to dispatch "C" forthwith.At this point "A" is dangling from the edge of a deck, high above-ground (from which "D" previously fell to his demise). So there now remains only the original couple ("A"/"B"), divorce still only pending, with him needing her assistance, or he'll fall to his demise alongside "D."Scene dissolves to "B" being questioned, alone, and exonerated at police station. The only "innocent" heretofore in this opus, she walks freely from the station, opens the trunk of her vehicle. Guess what she views in the satchel firmly stored in the trunk.