Review of Body Heat (1981) by Filipeneto — 06 Aug 2020

In this film everything revolves around sensuality and the influence of noir is truly clear. Set in a hot Florida summer, the film tells how an unscrupulous and womanizing lawyer gets involved in a torrid case with a blonde beauty on her husband's back. It turns out that the husband is very rich, thanks to speculative and dubious business, and the idea of killing him comes almost naturally. From there ... it's better to see the film.

The film is not perfect but it works well. Directed and written by Lawrence Kasdan, who is better known for his work as a screenwriter than for his directorial streak, the film has a very engaging story, built upon an environment of latent sensuality. Heat is an omnipresent element, being almost naturally transmitted from the summer environment to the characters' passionate relationship. As a consequence, the film has several sexually clear scenes and dialogues and some female nudes, which should be taken into account by those who have children at home.

Being a film very influenced by noir, the last thing we should expect is one-dimensional characters. In fact, the characters in this film are not what they seem, and this required additional work from the actors that was very well done. This was Kathleen Turner's film debut and she showed that, in addition to being beautiful and sexy, she is a talented actress. William Hurt was also a novice and he work perfectly as a cynical, womanizing and unscrupulous lawyer. The two actors created excellent chemistry. More discreet but decent, the supporting cast has talented names like Richard Crenna, Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke.

Technically, it is a regular film, but has an excellent cinematography, which articulates very well night and medium light scenes, loaded with sensuality and malice, with day scenes where heat is almost palpable in its intense light and strong colours. Sets and costumes are excellent, the choice of cars for the two main characters also suggests a lot of their personality (especially Ned Racine's car, perfect for an inveterate womanizer). Inescapable, the initial credits exude sensuality in the way they were conceived and serve very well to introduce us to the film environment, something that would be much more difficult otherwise or without the indispensable help of the impeccable soundtrack, signed by John Barry.