Femme Fatale (1991)

Don't Believe the Hype

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Don't even think of being tempted to watch this because of the intriguing premise of a disappeared bride. This is no "Breakdown" or "The Vanishing". What it is, is a total waste of time. Beyond the initial idea, the script seemed made up as it went along. The characters are unlikable, the premise preposterous, and the entire movie is pointless. This is like trying to make sense out of a jigsaw puzzle with quite a few missing pieces. Unfortunately I stayed with it, hoping to find at least one redeeming quality that would justify my patience. None could be found, and you have been warned not to make the same mistake. - MERK

It's interesting at first. A naive park ranger (Colin Firth) marries a pretty, mysterious woman (Lisa Zane) he's only known for a short time. They seem to be happy, then she disappears without warning. He searches for her and, after a few dead ends, stumbles upon some of her abused childhood and sleazy recent past, which may include criminal activity. And then, it seems the filmmakers didn't know what to do with the story. The beginning, while not as suspenseful as it sounds, is at least watchable. Then it ceases to be interesting or even make much sense. And the ending is so lame, so dull, and so devoid of any excitement or intelligence, you'll think the screenwriters didn't know what to do with it and got bored trying. What a sorry waste of a good idea!

As I sat in front of the TV watching this movie, I thought, "Oh, what Alfred Hitchcock, or even Brian DePalma, could have done with this!" Chances are, you will too. It does start out intrigueing. A British park ranger living in Los Angeles (Collin Firth) marries a pretty, demure brunette woman (Lisa Zane) whom he met in a park only a short time ago. Then, one day she dissappears. The police are unable to find any documentation that she ever existed, and Firth conducts his own search. So far, so good. Just as he's about to give up, he turns to his womanizing best friend (Billy Zane), and they stumble onto her former life in L.A.'s sordid underground of drugs, nightclubs, and ametuer filmmaking, and then to her history of mental instability. At that point, Firth's life is in danger, and the film falls apart. None of the characters from Lisa Zane's past are remotely interesting. The film moves slowly, and there's very little action. There is a subplot regarding missing drug money, but it's just a throwaway. No chases, no cliffhanging sequences, and no suspense. Just some dull beatings and a lot of chat by boring characters. One thing worth noting, Lisa Zane and Billy Zane are brother and sister, but they never appear in a scene together. By the end of the movie, you're torn between wondering what might have been and trying to stay awake.

The bud of love bloomed when boy met girl. A whirlwind romance and quickie nuptials are displayed in a series of flashbacks after a mysterious woman [read: crazy] leaves her hubby during the honeymoon. He goes bonkers and spends his days tracing his disappeared darling. This leads him into a web of S&M film makers, lunatic drug dealers, and a very large surprise concerning his wonderful wife. Run of the mill thriller which seems to bog down more than cause one to quiver with emotional excitement.