Review of The Last Seduction (1994) by Alvin Y — 19 Sep 2010

I love this film. It's an absolute breath of fresh air. Those who can't deal with the immorality of this film are really drunk on Hollywood happy-ending sap and are blind to the realities of human nature.

Guess what, in real life, more often than not, the bad guys don't get punished. If movies about the white hats winning in the end make you feel better about the reality of what usually happens in life, more power to you.

How many times have we cheered on a bad guy despite ourselves, even though we know he's bad, just because he's so charming and sexy? Why not the same of a woman? She's evil, she's manipulative, she gets what she wants.

I love it. Would I want to meet someone like this in real life? Of course not. Do I find her behavior acceptable? Of course not, it's absolutely reprehensible. But this is a movie, it's entertainment, and the world is already full of bad-guys-get-it-in-the-end fantasies, orgies of violence that are only excused by the fact that the person being destroyed is a "bad guy" - why can't I relish in a fantasy of a brilliant and amoral woman triumphing over the stupid and trusting.

We want to believe in the essential goodness of mankind, but unfortunately, in the real world as in this movie, villains often capitalize on that need to believe for their own benefit. Linda Fiorentino is absolutely amazing in this movie, she is so damn sexy, smart, and in control of herself except for her role in this movie.

Bill Pullman is his usual wonderful self, and there are many other excellent supporting performances from the likes of J.T. Walsh and Peter Berg. This movie is now I think a very seductive one even though we don't much obsessed with Bridget Gregory.