Body Heat
Lawrence Kasdan, writer of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark, has definitely made some major contributions to cinema. However, one that often gets over-looked is a post-noir psychological thriller that sported an excellent cast, a palpable atmosphere, a great, suspenseful story, and one of the greatest soundtracks for any film ever. And tons of nudity.
The thriller is known as “Body Heat.”
This movie doesn’t need gallons of blood, thousands of explosions, or car chases in every minute to be suspenseful. This movie derives its suspense the old fashioned way: From a look on someone’s face, a softly spoken word, from a rise in tension on a violin. Film classes watch it to learn about creating atmosphere, and thousands of viewers world wide watch it to feel love and fear, suspense and passion intertwine.
The movie opens with bottom feeder lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) looking at a burning building from his childhood. Hey, it happens to all of us buddy. I once watched my preschool burn down. Well hey, they should have let me store my fireworks there!
Ned has it rather rough. His firm is floundering, and he’s forced to defend people who deface public toilets (Talk about taking a lot of sh… never mind), he’s living in Florida during one of the worst heatwaves in history, and his only friends are the police chief, Oscar, and Ted Danson, a somewhat more successful scumbag.
But everything changes. Ned meets the gorgeous Mattie Walker (Kathleen Turner, in her first role) out by the Hollywood bandshell. After LOTS of flirtatious banter, and enough sexual innuendo to make James Bond roll his eyes, Mattie takes Ned to her house, to show him her enchanted wind chimes, that move and jangle even when there’s no wind. After seeing them. She locks him out of the house, and tells him she never wants to see him again.
Ned, being a reasonable man, grabs a chair, throws it through her window, and starts making love to her on the floor.
Okay, kids, this is the part of the review called MOVIE VS. REALITY!
NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER try this in real life! EVER!
You could cut yourself on a piece of glass when you are naked on the floor. That would be most unpleasant.
Ned and Mattie are soon having a full fledged affair, cheating on Mattie’s oft absent husband. However, perhaps because of all the broken windows, he starts to catch on, and tries to intimidate Ned in the most horrifying way possible… by taking him to dinner.
There, he flexes all of his scummy, reaganaught powers, and talks about evil things like… BUSINESS and… CORPORATIONS! He even has … GREASY HAIR! What a sicko!
He also starts to hit Mattie. But, really? Greasy hair!
Ned and Mattie, determined to start a new life for themselves, soon start to make plans. They will kill this man, and end up with his fortune. But things go wrong in their crime, and everything backfires. When chaos overtakes the sweltering little town, can the two trust each other, and themselves, to pull off their heist?
The most fascinating thing about this movie (besides all the nudity) is the fact that their isn’t much too it. The plot, while engaging, isn’t too different from that of “Double indemnity” or “Out of the Past.” The sets of the movie are low budget, just a large house and a couple streets. So what exactly makes this movie so good?
The atmosphere! It’s nt only flawless, but also, for the most part, generated entirely by the mind. With a little music, the Hollywood beach bandshell becomes a mousetrap. With some eerie lighting, a gazebo is a battlefield.
All the actors, the music, the lighting, the camerawork, all of it seem to give the movie a haunting allure, like a moth flying slowly towards a flame, knowing it will be killed, but no longer caring. Just any given shot, any given scene, contains so much emotions: Fear, love, guilt, passion, anger, and creepiness as murder and death become more pressing aspects of the plot.
The ending is both a twist and an obvious final conclusion. It is pulled off in a way that you could never have a predicted, but delivers a result you knew all along. While it isn’t for children, “Body heat” is fascinating and entertaining no matter how many times you see it. 9/10.
