Body of Evidence
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Movie Reviews of Body of Evidence
Movie Review: Bad, but not THAT bad!
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all I am going to disagree with many that Madonna actually gives a surprisingly good performance as the seductress on trial. What gave me the heebie-jeebies about seeing this movie isn't so much to controversial sex scenes, but the fact that it was released shortly after BASIC INSTINCT, and the script worked seemlessly as a companion piece for it. What made it work though, was the courtroom scenes, as corny as they were.As a hard-headed lawyer Willem Dafoe's Frank Dulaney is the character who gets more personal taking your case than if you were the witness. It is demonstrated very effectively in the moments where Anne Archer is in the witness stand. Critique: Madonna's on trial for the murder of her wealthy older lover. After an evening's entertainment, he is found dead apparently had a bad heart. Seeing Madonna naked probably did the trick.....LOL! Dafoe inevitably falls for her, and the case twists and turns. Thus the screenplay ties the film together as a kaleidoscope with very little brilliant colors. Who's the blame? Director Uli Edel? Or the cameraman? There is one scene during Dafoe's opening deliberation where we notice a very attractive young girl in the jury. Are we supposed to believe, this gal will turn into a hero of the juries to help turn Madonna loose? Nope, she's just another citizen just trying to earn the extra dough.
For Madonna fans this is a sure winner. Her character is the perfect vamp. Anybody would feel right at home in Portland. I know because I have been there myself and it is a beautiful city. As Madonna memorably points out while being interrogated by Joe Mantegna as the opposing attorney, "Portland is a small city. I even dated a man who dated a woman you dated." Clearly Dafoe has feelings for her when watching her pose naked beneath the balustrade. It probably made the fishermen in the area a little eerie as well. Her character and all the other characters have seemingly no morals or values. What does she dedicate her life to? She answers that in one of the funniest lines in the entire movie, which unfortunately cannot be printed here.
True, Madonna is a very beautiful, very talented woman. So much so, she must have been offered a heck of a salary to take the part. Had she been any wiser, she would have refused it, and Sharon Stone or Meryl Streep may have gotten the role. Who knows. Maybe they refused it too. Think about it. The entire movie looks like it was filmed in a very short amount of time, on a very low budget, and written by a High School play director. It's been a while since I've seen Uli Edel direct anything else after this, or his crew. They are probably bagging groceries at Trader Joe's right now as I speak.
Buy if you're a Madonna fan. Anyone else....you've been warned!
Movie Review: Perhaps this would have been a great film if...
Summary: 3 Stars
...Madonna hadn't been in it. Sharon Stone was pretty much unknown when she starred in Basic Instinct. Her role as a seductive and manipulative mystery novelist blew moviegoers away. No one had expected this obscure film genre to take off the way it had. It was no surprise that more films of this sort were released. However, a similar thriller titled Body of Evidence did not receive the same rave reviews and box office success as Basic Instinct. After all, Madonna playing a sexually aggressive seductress-slash-dominatrix was as unexpected as Arnold Schwarzenegger playing an action hero. The plot of the movie -- a woman who "made love" to her rich and old husband with a bad heart to death in order to obtain his immense fortune -- seemed rather interesting. I love erotic thrillers of this sort. But the overall courtroom sequence, S&M scenes and the characters in general -- with the exception of Joe Mantegna -- seemed cartoonish and uneven. William Defoe's role of the defense attorney who becomes obsessed with his client's sex games was... well, let's just say he wasn't Michael Douglas. Alas, Body of Evidence would have worked out better if the sex scenes had been toned down a notch and Madonna hadn't played such a redundant role...Movie Review: Don't Take It Too Seriously
Summary: 3 Stars
OK, yes, this was Madonna's attempt at a Basic Instinct type seductive thriller. The major problem here is the script, it's absolutely horrible. And even though Madonna can act when she really wants to--like in Evita--no actress could make this mess work or actor for that matter. Though there are some great, oscar-nominated actors here, like Anne Archer, they seem very detached from their characters and the result is a forced, campy feel. If you look at this movie from that kind of campy angle then it gets a 5. The other problem is William Defoe. Though hes a good actor he's just too scary looking and not sexy what-so-ever for this part. This movie would've done better with a hot lead to play against Madonna. So, Madonna fans will love it regardless and if you want a fun, campy sex thriller then Body of Evidence is for you. With a better script and better male lead this movie may have been taken a little more seriously.
Movie Review: Not That Bad...But Certainly Not Good Either !!!!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
First things first, at best Madonna is only a mediocre actress along the lines of TV stars like Tori Spelling, Nicolette Sheridan and Heather Locklear. I mean she's not Meryl Streep or Susan Sarandon but who expects her to be. But I for one can say she's a... lot better than Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston. This movie wasn't that bad, Madonna plays a seductress who uses sex as a murder weapon. The movie was cheesy and trashy but I think thats the goal, Madonna gives a decent enough performance, ... But she looked gorgeous in the movie, that was her peak beauty wise to me, The blond hair, the blue eyes, the diva was flawless. Long live the Queen and her trashy, B Movies.Movie Review: A poor mans Basic Instinct
Summary: 3 Stars
Firstly, I didn't think this was a bad film at all.Its has an interesting storyline (see above), the acting is acceptable (its a shame we have to mention this when talking about Madonna's movies), and the sex scenes are definately raunchy (actually, more explicit than I would have expected - however this was during Madonna's SEX / rebellious period).
The problem is that it came AFTER Basic Instinct which is a far superior film, more stylish, more dramatic and more enjoyable. The script let the film down at times too, giving Madonna some silly one-liners "Have you ever seen animals make love Frank? Its brutal".
Enjoyable and definately worth a viewing.