united states, 1980, englishThis hasn’t aged well to say the least. It’s transphobic and ridiculous. It’s also so much fun and that museum scene is absolutely incredible. So many bonus points for the heroine and the teenage boy not having a romance.
BRIAN DE PALMA
Dressed to Kill
I seem to be on a thriller kick lately, which is definitely not always the case. But the winds of interest are fickle and ever changing, as they say. At any rate, this is another one that I’ve avoided for a long time, although I think it’s mostly because I thought this was To Die For, a Nicole Kidman movie that I saw in high school and absolutely hated.
Turns out I was missing out. Let’s get this out of the way up front, this movie is dated in a particular way that’s hard to stomach. The “sexual deviant” as murderer trope, especially as it relates to transgender folks, has, mercifully, gone the way of the dodo. But particularly at a time where the very existence of trans people is somehow considered debatable... it’s a particularly rough look.
If you can’t get past that, I get it. If you can, this is a phenomenally fun and worthwhile watch. I mean, the entire thing is absolutely ridiculous, but it’s such earnest and lovely ridiculousness that it was impossible not to get swept up in it. The whole thing is just so damn well made, so much more well made than it has basically any right being.
There is a famous scene where the initial candidate for main character, Angie Dickinson is wandering around through a museum. We know she’s lovelorn, trapped in an unstimulating marriage. We know this is a thriller. And we know that she is drawn to a somewhat sketchy man she’s just met. The film plays with the conventions of the genre to create a serious amount of unease, while also being beautifully shot and arranged. It’s worth watching this whole film for just that part, and there’s lots more delight to be found.