To Die For
A black comedy in which an ammoral and ambitious news personality seduces a teenager to convince him to murder her husband.
If anyone ever doubts whether Nicole Kidman is a good actress, they should immediately be required to watch this outrageously wicked comedy from 1995, for which Kidman deservedly won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role. While director Gus Van Sant handles the fact-based satire with razor-sharp precision, Kidman delivers a deliciously devious performance as Suzanne Stone, a small-town New Hampshire housewife who fancies herself the next Barbara Walters, Jane Pauley, Diane Sawyer, and Maria Shriver all rolled up into one meticulously coiffed package. So determined is she to have a successful career on TV that she'll stop at nothing--even the calculated murder of her husband (Matt Dillon)--to get the attention she feels entitled to. To carry out her scheme she recruits some unwitting local teenagers including one boy (Joaquin Phoenix, matching Kidman's excellence) whose infatuation with Suzanne leads to sexual escapades and predictably troublesome consequences. It's a satirical comedy in Van Sant's capable hands, but it's so close to tabloid reality that the film never seems implausible--which only gives it a funnier, more blood-chilling quality of humor. Featuring Illeanna Douglas, George Segal, and Seinfeld alumnus Wayne Knight in memorable supporting roles, this is one of the best comedies of the '90s--especially if you prefer comedies with a decidedly darker edge. --Jeff Shannon
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To Die For Reviews
"To Die For" is a mean-spirited little film and one that left something of a bitter taste in my mouth. Nearly all of the characters are painted with a very broad brush, and are made to look absurd and ugly for their stupidity, spitefulness and vanity. Such harsh characterizations may seem surprising coming from a director like van Sant, whose other films generally display a strong empathy and compassion for the wide range of humanity (see: "Drugstore Cowboy", "My Own Private Idaho", "Paranoid Park".)
Of course, it all becomes clear as the film progresses that the film is, in fact, a satire on a shallow celebrity- and media-obsessed culture. That is, such pathetic, shallow characters (and the subsequent bitter aftertaste) serve as a condemnation of a culture of headlines and breaking news and journalistic "investigations" in which small, humanizing details and character traits are lost so that the audience make a quick, untroubled about whether the subject is good or bad, malicious or benevolent. All subtlety is lost, and thus much of what makes us human.
I don't know if I'll return to this film (it is just a little too brutal for my tastes), but I'm glad I saw it.
Although Nicole Kidman is an Oscar-winning actress who has starred in many Hollywood films, very rarely has she appeared in a movie that went to the top of the boxoffice charts. Never in the same league as Sandra Bollock or Julia Roberts, Kidman has, however, developed an ardent fan base that loves her performances and admires her for the fact that she does attempt to find that one movie that will someday make her a major boxoffice atttraction. In "To Die For" Kidman plays Suzanne Stone, a wannabe weather girl at a local TV station who dreams of becoming the next Barbara Walters in her hometown. She marries a man (played beautifully by Matt Dillon) who is part of a powerful mafia family. When he attempts to start a family with her and insists that she put her career dreams on hold , Suzanne plots to kill him. A wickedly yet dramatic film, "To Die For" is my favorite Nicole Kidman movie. I was surprised when I discovered the film was a major flop at the boxoffice as it is truely the best movie Kidman has ever done. Budgeted at $20,000,000, the film only took in 21 million. The role of Suzanne was offered to Meg Ryan originally who turned it down because she was only offered $5,000,000 to star in it. The role then went to Kidman who was given a 2 million dollar salary paycheck, an extremely low sum for a starring role.
In TO DIE FOR, Suzanne Stone (the glorious Nicole Kidman) is an ultra-ambitious, wannabe media megastar. This takes a certain type of person, a person without fear, heart, or conscience. Stone puts her psychotic tendencies to work, building her TV career by any means necessary. This includes marriage, murdering her unbelievably clueless husband (Matt Dillon), and relentless self-promotion. This is a woman driven to be in reality what she has always been in her own blank mind. She WILL be famous! Fortunately, she won't have to sell her soul in the bargain, due to the glaring fact that she does not possess one! Kidman IS Suzanne Stone, an empty shell w/ a wonderful paint-job! She oozes along, manipulating the foolish and living only to be noticed. Don't worry though, she definitely goes too far and receives her day of recompence. Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly thick in his role as Suzanne's primary pawn. TDF belongs in every black comedy collection...
See "Murder in New Hampshire", a true-crime story. Then watch "To Die For", it's the same movie but the producers of "To Die For" don't tell you that it's a true crime story, instead they promoted it as a comedy! Weird.
Very satisfied with movie. Very happy as movie was lost during postage contacted Amazon and very satisfied with result and obtaining new DVD. Thank you Amazon
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