A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

Sadly Over-hyped

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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.

Totally predictable, totally unlikely, is the only way to describe this convoluted mess of a movie. Matt Dillon gets away with murder and no police are bright enough to figure out his game. I mean how exactly did he manage to hang somebody from the rafters in five minutes? How does he happen to conveniently manage to be in just the right place at just the right time?None of the characters are likable, and the whole film becomes nothing more than a "so what". This is truly a movie to avoid, because it is so insulting to the viewer. I hated everything about "A Kiss Before Dying", and do not understand how this rates a 5.3. To me it is a zero. - MERK

I don't know what to make out of this movie. I guess its one of those movies that were MEANT to be good, but just didn't turn out to be that. What are the reasons? Well, lets see...the probably biggest reason was wrong casting of the leading lady. Sean Toung must be the most passive and expressionless actress ever, so instead of feeling sympathy for her, we only feel annoyed by her presence. Second problem is the plot: its too thin. Matt Dillon's character, tho a villain, is at first not introduced as a typical "peerless" killer type, but then as the film progresses he becomes just that. He murders both Dorrie's old boyfriend and her friend in a professional manner, without breaking a sweat. It all looks just too smooth for a guy thats not a professional killer. Also the way he just appears at the end, where he suddenly becomes DEUS EX MACHINA a'la John Ryder, it just looks unconvincing for some reason.This movie's theme is ambition, the thirst or hunger that, if big enough, can make a man possessed with it do anything. Even murder. But its at character study that this movie again fails. Despite losing her brother, sister and mother, Ellen remains on bad terms with her only remaining family member, her father. This is kinda strange, no? Even when he accepts Jonathan/Jay, she shuns his company and criticizes her fiancée/husband for spending too much time with him. Jonathan/Jay on other hand, is a sweet and nice guy who, when he's not killing, helps out Ellen in her work with drug addicts and he even helps a beaten up woman junkie/prostitute to a hospital. Ahem...this REALLY clashes with the image of a guy who kills to fulfill his ambitions, no? So what is he, a sort of Jekyll/Hyde character?? There are also just too few engaging characters in this movie and aside from Thor, Ellen's dad, there aren't ANY other major characters here, Ellen's friend from the social center being a poor candidate. Unfortunately, Max Von Sydow in the role of Thor Carlsson is not given enough time or space to really flourish in his deadpan role.So, this film just fell too short of achieving its goals because it simply had too little going for it. Even Matt Dillon, the only bright spot here, feels wasted in such a poorly conceived and unrealistic role. The plot, however thin, is the only thing that will keep you watching it and thats only because you wanna see how it ends. Although you deep down inside already know how: the wretched sister gets her revenge and gets the killer. This is a movie that wanted to show us the ugly, dark side of ambition...well, it certainly showed us that, but in a less satisfactory way than I hoped for. I give it a weak 5.

Tacky murder-mystery about a twisted con-man romancing the daughter of a wealthy business tycoon shortly after murdering her lookalike sister. Writer-director James Dearden completely revamps Ira Levin's book from the 1950s (even more so than the '56 version starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward), but the changes are less effectual--and the lead performances by Matt Dillon and Sean Young are unconvincing. Dearden gives the violence a visual jolt, and the movie may well pass muster for those searching for something to watch on a dull weekend, but it's incredibly sloppy around the edges. Young (in a dual role) is so determined to be taken seriously as an actress that her archness mitigates the camp-lasciviousness of her persona (she might have been slinky or kinky, but settles instead for starchy). Tellingly, this was Young's last starring role in a 'quality' production, although Dillon's career managed to survive. *1/2 from ****

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits Johnathon Corliss (Matt Dillon) uses his hidden intelligence to hatch a scheming plot. Since childhood, his gifts have gone unappreciated and, on the railtrack outside his window, he sees the Carlson company trains go rolling by and dreams of one day being as rich as him and hatches a scheming plot to worm his way into the family fortune. First, he dates Carlson's (Max Von Sydow) daughter and kills her when she becomes pregnant. But when her older sister Ellen (Sean Young) starts digging into the events surrounding her sister's death, it isn't long before he's struck up a relationship with her. But, as Ellen pieces events together, the shattering truth could end up costing her her relationship...and her life.Admittently, looking at this little thriller today there are flaws I can see in it that I might not have seen when I first saw it maybe eight years ago. The acting is of a very poor standard (not surprising that none of the stars ever went on to any bigger things!) and the plot has a number of holes in it. But it's an engaging story with an impressively dark quality to it. It may just be that it kinda stirs up some fond memories for me, but I didn't find it a totally unenjoyable watch. ***