Black Widow

Directed by Bob Rafelson, Black Widow follows Justice Department agent Alex Barnes (Debra Winger) as she becomes obsessed with catching the woman (Theresa Russell’s Catharine) responsible for the deaths of several wealthy older men – with Winger’s protagonist eventually pursing Catharine to Hawaii and cultivating a friendship with the crafty killer. It’s a relatively familiar premise that is, for the most part, utilized to better-than-expected effect by Rafelson, as the filmmaker, working from Ronald Bass’ script, delivers a briskly-paced thriller that handily balances, in its opening hour, Alex’s ongoing investigation with Catharine’s illicit exploits – with the thoroughly watchable atmosphere heightened by both Winger and Russell’s solid, compelling work as the central characters. There’s little doubt, then, that Black Widow’s momentum does take something of a palpable hit as it progresses into its second hour, as the picture slows down considerably and devotes itself almost entirely to the uneasy bond that begins to form between Winger and Russell’s respective figures – with much of the tension of the movie’s first act generally absent from this portion of the proceedings. The twist-laden climactic stretch admittedly ensures that the whole thing ends on a fairly spellbinding (if overly conventional) note, which ultimately cements Black Widow‘s place as a predominantly stirring effort from Rafelson.

*** out of ****