On B List of Movie Reviews
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Black Widow (1987)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
5/25
5/25:
Black Widow is an overlooked film in the neo-noir genre.
The style is impeccable in the tradition of Body Heat, thanks to the
outstanding cinematography by Conrad L. Hall, with shades of Zalman King. I kept thinking that Brian De Palma
directed it, but it's Bob Rafelson who did. Having Theresa Russell aboard goes a long way. She's believable as
the black widow. Debra Winger is on the other side, pursuing her, and may have fallen in love with her. At the
minimum, there's respect for each other through discovery.
The only negative is the jumps. For example, Margaret was in the process of acquiring William McCrory. After
they married, the next thing I know is Catharine is in Hawaii with another rich guy. In other words, I'm left
to assume that McCrory had been poisoned to death with penicillin. This happens frequently throughout the film.
That's why I had a hard time deciding between '7' and '8'.
Speaking of black widows, it's ironical to see Terry O'Quinn as Debra Winger's boss in Washington, D.C. The
most famous role of his career was a bluebeard-type in The Stepfather
which came out during the same year as Black Widow. By the way, if you found the guy with glasses
weird-looking during the poker game (he mentioned the result of the Skins game afterwards), that's David Mamet of
The Untouchables and
Glengarry Glen Ross fame.
All in all, Black Widow defines the term extremely well.