Starring: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman

Director: John Dahl

Bridget (Fiorentino) convinces her husband (Pullman) into getting involved in a drug deal, and then runs off with the money. Since he’s not the type to just let it go, he tries to find her, so she heads to hide out in a small town where innocent Mike (Berg) gets drawn into the game. Bridget starts to come up with a murderous plan to get rid of her ex and use her new squeeze to do it.

Made for HBO, this was a TV movie but also had a theatrical release. It’s a Film noir starring a dark haired femme fatale with a Veronica Lake haircut, a smaoking cigarette, and a truly sharp tongue. Fiorentino really chews up the scenery here, a total sociopath who uses everyone and anyone, she is witty and also a bit of a potty mouth, laughing as she manipulates everyone around her. Bridget is a really great character, in a really awful way, and has some excellent lines that made me laugh sometimes.

This film has a really odd jazz score that seems kind of at odds with the tone of the film. I guess it’s meant to be cheerful at a juxtaposition to how dark the film is, but I found it jarring. I think this film has a really great script and Fiorentino and Pullman are really great. But perhaps because it was made for TV, sometimes you really feel that it’s slightly over the top in it’s style, a little cartoonish.

That said, it has some great twists and turns and just when you think Bridget has been caught out, it turns out she has all the threads in her hand and it still calmly weaving her web. There is something really good here, but I just couldn’t quite get into it that much.

See It If: you like a twisty and murderous crime plot. It has a lot going for it and excellent performances, but I hated the score and just didn’t love it over all.