Body of Evidence
Starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe
Reviewed by Kath Tucker
It has been billed as a "highly charged erotic thriller", a cross between Fatal Attraction and 9
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If you want to go along for the ride, it's an interesting menagerie of characters (though some are disappointingly cliched), whose lives appear very much out of control and in the hands (or other body parts) of the main character, Rebecca Carlson (Madonna). She plays dice with their morality, principles and prejudices, and the game is deadly.
A beautiful yuppie gallery owner by day, Carlson is a seductress by night. She makes a habit of befriending old men with a curious mixture of idiosyncrasies — a lot of money, weak hearts and a penchant for sadomasochist sex.
When one of these lovers dies, she is accused of his murder, and Frank Dulaney (Willem Dafoe), the best lawyer in town, is hired to defend her. Predictably, their torrid affair explores Carlson's sexuality in long and detailed scenes that are as explicit as they are believable.
The film certainly challenges conventional notions of what is okay, permissible, "normal" in sex. In the courtroom, Dulaney reminds the jury that Carlson is not charged over her sexual practices; they were clearly consensual.
But the film's challenge remains on a purely individual level. Perhaps this fits well with the atomisation of late capitalist society. Madonna is different, unconventional, but ultimately she only offers escapism, not a relevant sexual alternative.
The film limits its explorations of sexuality by the introduction of classic stereotypes and character genres: the jilted, weeping "other woman", the ex-lover Carlson dumped after she caught him in bed with a man. The way this point is drawn out and exploited looks little different to plain, old-fashioned homophobia.
Carlson's attempted manipulation of the viewer is at times as blatant as her manipulation of the other characters. During the trial she declares that the jury hates her: the women because they think she's a whore, and the men because she reminds them of all the women who've ever done them over. This invites obvious questions of the viewer: if you don't like her, justify yourself, and your story had better be good. Dulaney's response is one of the clearest statements of the entire film: "You have an inflated opinion of yourself".
Having Madonna's name on the movie no doubt ensures a certain degree of success. Dafoe puts in a good performance as the lawyer, but the plot's just not up to much. If you like watching Madonna, you'll ; otherwise you'll probably get more stimulation staying home and watching Neighbours.