A Perfect Murder (1998)

The husband (Michael Douglas) is a currency trader whose portfolio value is going right down the drain. The wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the heiress to a $100 million fortune. The marriage is not a happy one, but the promise of long-term affluence keeps them together. The wife pursues an affair with an artist (Viggo Mortenson) who gives her all the passion she doesn't get at home, and when the husband finds out, well ... someone's going to pay with their life. Who will the unlucky one be? We wouldn't dare spoil the elegant plot twists of this devious thriller, but it's well known that Douglas excels at portraying greedy characters with ice in their veins. Here, it's easy to assume that Douglas has pulled off, as the title implies, a killing that nobody will ever pin on him. But this is the kind of glossy thriller (loosely inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder) that delights in disrupting your expectations, so it grabs your attention right up to the final scene. It's a bit too cold to really draw you in (hey, these are not very nice people we're dealing with here!), but with its able cast and stylish direction by Andrew Davis, this less-than-perfect murder thriller is still definitely worth a look. The widescreen Special Edition DVD includes audio commentary by Michael Douglas, Andrew Davis, and producer Peter McGregor Scott, an alternate ending deleted from the finished film, and sketches by the film's costume designer. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Watch your back.

A Perfect Murder is a great suspense but I still feel like something's lacking from this cat and mouse game. Gwyneth Paltrow saves this film from sinking, she is fabulous, seductive, and connvincing as an unfaithful wife. Michael Douglas tends to over-act here and Viggo Mortensen is a nice piece of eye candy. I like this film but I wasn't jumping for joy, decide for yourself. July 17, 2008

Terrific replacement

I am in the midst of replacing some of my favorite movies on VHS to DVD. This one ranks toward the top. The movie is in great shape and was delivered promptly. January 19, 2008

love this flick

great cast and plot. wonder if this really has happened? wish I lived in the apartment that gwynth/michael had in the movie. December 18, 2007

Mistake to compare it to the Classic

The stock review on this movie told me that it was a loose remake of the Alfred Hitchcock Classic "Dial M For Murder." The promo also told me that it had a clever script and unexpected plot twists. So what do I spend my time doing as I watch the movie? Waiting to be caught off-guard by plot twists, and waiting to be impressed with a clever script. Well, I waited in vain. The better promo would have been; "This is an ok movie that stands on its own as a tense thiller." Had they said this, it would deserve ... um ... 4 stars.

This feeble remake presents nothing clever, nothing surprising and does not come close to the mastery of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece.
Sheesh, this movie might as well have put up a subtitle that said "the Grace Kelly wannabe will grasp the meat-thermometer to 'unexpectedly' kill her attacker."
As for us being "surprised" that the attacker was not the playboy guy, I knew it wasn't the moment the almost-masked guy slipped into the parking garage and the cameraman hid his face from us. duh!
As for the clever script, Michael Douglas basically tells his wife that he's going to kill her. Gee, is that tension? No, it's just annoying to watch and wonder just how stupid this blond wife is supposed to be.
As for the movie being clever? Not when they claim that it's a remake of a Hitchcock masterpiece. Also, the plotting husband gives an unconvincing reason as to why the playboy can't just go kill her in the bathroom. The viewer feels like shouting "it's because this is a remake of a film where the wife is on the phone when she is attacked!" I feel like also quoting the fictional-fictional Jack Slater (in Arnold's Last Action Hero) saying his expected and corny line of "big mistake."

A big reason why "Dial M For Murder" remains a masterpiece, is that Hitchcock limited himself to basically one set, with very few exceptions. Even his cameo was masterfully slipped into that expensive "flat" (in the picture on the wall). (He did the same self-challenge in Rear Window and Lifeboat.) The 1954 wonder-work (Dial M For Murder) has a tight script and mesmerizing camera work which endure to this high-tech day as one of the best of the best by the best, and not easily "remade" by this ok film. January 2, 2007

twisted

Michael Douglas is so convincing as a cold, calculating criminal/big business man, who hatches a scheme to do away with his cheating wife. Since the other man in the picture is also quite deviant, the plot gets complicated and things don't work out as planned. The result is an intelligent thriller that will draw you into the intrigue and keep you guessing as to what will happen next. Definitely the kind of movie that can be enjoyed again and again. Absolutely not a good choice for younger viewers though. December 10, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...