This is a so-so film. It is reasonably entertaining and has some good performances. I am struck by something in reading 20 or so of the 92 comments on this film. None of them have noted one of the more important facts about this story: that is that "To Die For" is loosely based on a real-life drama that unfolded in New England involving a teacher's aide named Pamela Smart who was convicted of having enlisted her teen-aged lover and some of his dull-witted school mates to murder her husband. A&E's series "American Justice" ran a very good episode on the subject which they, in true A&E fashion, re-air periodically. It is fascinating to see what Buck Henry did with that true story in "To Die For." Jimmy Emmett, as written by Hery and portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, comes very close to Pamela Smart's real-life boyfriend (and I use the term BOYfriend advisedly). The real life teen was obviously smitten by the attractive older woman (Pamela Smart is no Nicole Kidman, but she was reasonably attractive and, more importantly for a teen-ager, willing). The scenes of his testimony during the trial of Pamela Smart are riveting because he was obviously so naive as to have believed that Ms. Smart was in love with him and wanted to be with him. Phoenix captures the mind of that teen confused teen brilliantly. In this case, seeing the real life story helped me as a viewer better understand Phoenix's take on the character.
On the other hand, Henry makes Suzanne a reprehensible character, too dim-witted to understand how little she actually knows; ultimately she wasn't even smart enough to realize that manipulating less-than-brilliant teens into an act of murder was not likely to end well. Henry, I think, took more liberties with the 'real life" character here than he did with Jimmy Emmett. The primary attribute Suzanne has in common with Pamela Smart is a willingness to manipulate teen agers to do her bidding. Nonetheless, Henry's take on Suzanne is Buck Henry at his leeringly sardonic best.
Nicole Kidman is not one of my favorite actors, but she does well in this role of Suzanne, largely due to Henry's wonderfully caustic take on the ambition to be a television personality. Suzanne's only talent is her looks, but the only people she can find who readily agree that has sufficient looks to be a TV news personality are a small group of troubled teen agers. No one else is fooled other than her equally love-struck husband (Matt Dillon).
"To Die For" is not a great film by any means. At times the story slows to a crawl as Henry tries to delve into some depth in the relationships. Of course that is not really what the film is about -- it's about Henry's acerbic take on celebrity in America circa the final decade of the 20th century. On that level the movie works. Where it doesn't work so well, despite the strong performance of Joaquin Phoenix, is in the portrayal of the teenagers. Their motivations are complex (more complex than simply having sex with the gorgeous older woman) and neither the screenplay nor the direction manage to pull off the merger of the dramatic story of Jimmy Emmett with the dark comedy of Suzanne.
On the other hand, Henry makes Suzanne a reprehensible character, too dim-witted to understand how little she actually knows; ultimately she wasn't even smart enough to realize that manipulating less-than-brilliant teens into an act of murder was not likely to end well. Henry, I think, took more liberties with the 'real life" character here than he did with Jimmy Emmett. The primary attribute Suzanne has in common with Pamela Smart is a willingness to manipulate teen agers to do her bidding. Nonetheless, Henry's take on Suzanne is Buck Henry at his leeringly sardonic best.
Nicole Kidman is not one of my favorite actors, but she does well in this role of Suzanne, largely due to Henry's wonderfully caustic take on the ambition to be a television personality. Suzanne's only talent is her looks, but the only people she can find who readily agree that has sufficient looks to be a TV news personality are a small group of troubled teen agers. No one else is fooled other than her equally love-struck husband (Matt Dillon).
"To Die For" is not a great film by any means. At times the story slows to a crawl as Henry tries to delve into some depth in the relationships. Of course that is not really what the film is about -- it's about Henry's acerbic take on celebrity in America circa the final decade of the 20th century. On that level the movie works. Where it doesn't work so well, despite the strong performance of Joaquin Phoenix, is in the portrayal of the teenagers. Their motivations are complex (more complex than simply having sex with the gorgeous older woman) and neither the screenplay nor the direction manage to pull off the merger of the dramatic story of Jimmy Emmett with the dark comedy of Suzanne.