Review of To Die For (1995) by Bruce S — 28 Mar 2011

It's sad to see how some great films along with great directors become under-rated by award shows just because they don't follow typical and classical formulas. To Die For is one of these films. It was only recognized for its phenomenal lead actress Nicole Kidman which got what she deserves and should have got a run for the Oscar that year. But seriously that wasn't enough. Gus Van Sant has done to many films that are much better than Milk, yet the latter was the one to get the most recognition sadly. However, To Die For was a great film watching experience that I enjoyed for well too many reasons.

I just have this guilty pleasure watching films that are dark, evil and yet blackly funny. To Die For satisfied all my lust for these three factors. It's brilliantly written. And well all thanks to an excellent case of character study that is Suzanne Stone. The whole film revolves around her, and the chain of events depends on the development of her character so mainly it's really difficult to write such a character yet the job was pulled off and I loved it. My only complaint about the screenplay comes at the end when I was expecting something slightly more. Well, it was something, but I wanted them to play with it more instead of just hitting you in the face with it.

Gus Van Sant made the film with talent, love and a huge amount of style which was exactly what the film needed. This is really one of his best moments when he ditches classical story visual story telling and goes a bit further. He fragmented the story into bits and pieces and rejoined them together his own way to present this work. And well yes definitely what he did brought the film to a higher level. It was energetic and alive. And well the film is accompanied by a beautiful and moody musical score by Danny Elfman. It's beautiful how his music holds his signature and you can recognize it anyway. And well he was the perfect choice for the film.

Now to break it down, everyone working in the film has done a great job to make it what it is. But the one and only person who made To Die For a memorable film was Nicole Kidman with her tour de force performance. Let's face it, she is one of the few actresses to give a whole career of fine performances. And she had her outstanding moments. Yet none meets the greatness of her performance here. And it makes me wonder, why didn't she play more roles like this. Kidman tends to go to dramatic roles which she does so well there's no denying that. But what she did her was absolutely genius. She was a character by excellence. A cold blooded tigress with an evil grin to go along with it. The whole cast was excellent, but they were all over shadowed by her.