rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1981
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan; produced by Fred T. Gallo; written by Lawrence Kasdan
Starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, Mickey Rourke, J.A. Preston
'Body Heat' plays like a more erotic version of 'Double Indemnity', the Billy Wilder film from 1944, but changes enough to keep this entertaining all the way through. The revealing secrets are not hard to guess, but everything leading up to it is very well done. The story of two lovers killing her husband has been tried many times since that great film noir, but never as pleasing as in 'Body Heat'.
The heat does not just come from the bodies, although there is plenty of sexual action too. The film is set during a very hot summer in Florida. Everyone is constantly sweating, a nice trick from director Lawrence Kasdan: the tension seems always there. Attorney Ned Racine (William Hurt) meets married woman Matty (Kathleen Turner) and they fall in love. Her rich husband (Richard Crenna) is almost never home, giving the two lovers enough opportunities to make love and eventually plan the murder.
The murder takes place of course, and the real thriller elements set in only then. Friends of Ned are put on the case in various forms (district attorney played by Ted Danson, detective played by J.A. Preston) which complicates things, especially when the affair is no longer secret. Matty is also taking some unexpected steps which will benefit the two lovers, but could put Ned into real danger as well. Everything slowly unfolds to an expected conclusion, but arriving there was enough fun to forget about that.
'Body Heat' is an intense film noir and an exciting thriller. It is smarter than most films with the same themes, which especially shows in the dialogue. It is hard to decide what to think of these characters, but that goes for most film noirs, whether modern or from the 1940s and 1950s. At least they are intriguing. Not just the leading characters, also the supporting characters are smartly written.
As a first time director Lawrence Kasdan could have done a lot worse. His writing, already shown in blockbusters 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', is handled the right way in his own hands. If these three films would be the first on my resume I would be pretty happy, showing intelligence in science fiction, action, adventure, thriller and film noir.