'Better Than I Thought It Would Be'
Alan Rudolph may not be a name familiar to most people; as an associate of Robert Altman's, his filmography consists of B-movies and non-typical Hollywood films very few have come across before. Mortal Thoughts is the most commercial offering to date of his still in his take on domestic violence and one that manages to be engaging through its plot, but it is, unfortunately, let down by the unraveling of the culprit that makes little to no sense to the viewer, whatsoever.
Two working-class gals/ friends who run a beauty parlour in New Jersey, New York, make a mess out of a situation that goes wrong; their husbands, however, are arguably two of the worst characters in the film: one is a calm-yet boorish salesman, the other is an abusive, obnoxious lout who is also an alcoholic. The women discuss killing James (Bruce Willis) and getting away with it, as he was a criminal and abusive. One of the men gets killed and cops are trying to get to the bottom of who did it, by interrogating Moore's character, Cynthia.
Considered bleak and cold by critics when it was released in 1991, watching it today it works much better on the small screen. Mortal Thoughts feels more like a made-for-TV film, judging by the way it comes across and as the film progresses, its neo-noir-Esque, murder-mystery story, which goes back-& forth, becomes engaging. Yes, it feels tawdry and yet Randolph takes the material, and the characters and manages to get the best out of those aspects, as well as out of Moore and Headley. The bits and pieces of Cynthia's version of events come together to form an intricate- yet conflicting whole, up until the ending, and one that I didn't like, which let the film down. In her self-defence, she was innocent; I wished the film had stressed this part.
Performance-wise, as Demi Moore's follow-up to Ghost, she completely nails it, and her character has a tad more depth by comparison. With bigger hair, her role as Cynthia was a complete departure, after coming off the back of her success in Ghost; spirited but also it was a compelling performance that has never been bettered, before and after Mortal Thoughts. Glenne Headly was also a tour-de-force, whilst a low-key turn by Harvey Keitel was impressive. Bruce Willis was okay, but his character was a total douche and obnoxious; still, it made an interesting change to see him play someone we couldn't root for.
Final Verdict:
Suffice it to say as Modern film noirs go, Mortal Thoughts has its surprises and is occasionally tense, with moments that kept me intrigued.
It's underrated for sure.
Overall:
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