A Perfect Murder

Directed by Andrew Davis, A Perfect Murder follows Michael Douglas’ Steven Taylor as he begins to suspect that his much younger wife (Gwyneth Paltrow’s Emily) is having an affair with a hunky painter (Viggo Mortensen’s David). It’s a familiar premise that’s employed to progressively (and impressively) absorbing effect by Davis, as the filmmaker, working from Patrick Smith Kelly’s script, delivers a briskly-paced and handsomely-shot endeavor that benefits quite substantially from its uniformly strong performances – with Paltrow and Mortensen’s solid work here ultimately eclipsed by Douglas’ irresistibly smarmy turn as the increasingly vile central character. (David Suchet fares equally well playing the skeptical, low-key detective on the eventual case.) The increasingly engrossing midsection is heightened by a smattering of surprising, engaging developments and twists, while the surprising (and spellbinding) third act ensures that A Perfect Murder concludes on as positive (and satisfying) a note as one could’ve envisioned – which does, in the end, cement the picture’s place as a typically top-notch effort from Davis and an above-average ’90s thriller.

***1/2 out of ****

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