Review of Mortal Thoughts (1991) by Alison O — 02 Sep 2005

Best in Show: Demi Moore.

One for the future: Bruce Willis.

Stand-out scene: Cup of sugar scene.

Brainer or no-brainer: No brainer.

Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: Repeated.

DVD commentary any good?: n/a.

Made on the cusp of the Eighties and Nineties, there's more than a discernible whiff of hairspray about this whole project, the amount of hairbrushes required to achieve the level of backcombing on show on this movie equal the stock of an average Boots. A mystery/thriller this concerns the murder of James Urbansky (Bruce Willis), a role considerably fleshed-out once he had signed up for the role. Obnoxious and brutalising, Urbansky sponges off his hard-working hairdresser wife Joyce (Glenne Headly) and hits on her best friend and fellow scissorsmith, Cynthia (Moore). The movie begins with a taped police interview with Cynthia (Harvey Keitel here appears on the right side of the law for once), a device that proves effective as we see events from her point of view, or rather the point of view she gives to the police. Willis has a lot of fun with his role and as was the case with Pulp Fiction, his acting abilities seem to be at their most impressive when he's a supporting player. Headly and Moore make the most of what are in effect the leading roles, and the viewer is kept guessing for much of the film's length as to how matters are going to pan out. While the credibility of the story is paper thin and you can pick apart the plot contrivances as they appear, somehow the whole thing hangs together with some credibility, which has to be due to the direction of Alan Rudolph, who has a history of well plotted movies under his belt. As a product of its time, this is well worth a look, if only to see Willis and Moore on screen together mid-marriage. Better than expected.