Black Widow (1987) Reviews

• lots underneath the surface here

  blanche-22005-08-10

  This is a terrific movie that reminds one what we lost when Debra Winger slowed down her movie-making. She gives an honest, heartfelt performance as an investigator chasing a woman who marries rich and whose husbands wind up dead every time. The widow then remakes her appearance, gets a new identity, and dupes another man. Only Winger is convinced that this trail of murders is the work of one woman. Eventually she catches up with this black widow (Theresa Russell) and the two hang out together in Hawaii. The Russell character likes the danger - she knows Winger is after her, and after trying to kill her during a scuba dive, saves her at the last minute. My favorite scene with Winger is the one in which she almost tells Nicol Williamson the truth about his bride. She stands and stares at him - she knows he's going to die, she knows he won't believe her - you can see every thought in her head until, regretfully, she leaves. Theresa Russell has the right detachment for this role. One suspects the character is a real man-hater and is, in fact, attracted to Winger. Winger is admiring of Russell's constant flirtation with danger. This is a complex relationship that the two play out. The finale is not up to the standard of the rest of the film, but I still highly recommend it.

• First Rate Cast In Terrific, Gorgeously-Shot, Lady Fed Vs Lady Psycho Thriller

  ShootingShark2006-02-12

  Alex is a workaholic fed who becomes convinced a female serial killer is seducing, marrying and poisoning rich men. After failing to prevent the death of a museum curator in Seattle, she follows the femme-fatale to Hawaii and manages to befriend her. But when she starts to fall in love with the killer's next victim, a complex web of intrigue ensues ... The script for this movie is a lot of fun but not very original - how then do the filmmakers hold our interest ? By simply making both the (usually male) cop and psycho interesting, intelligent women, and populating the supporting cast with offbeat, funny characters. The subtext is fascinating; is it a feminist piece with a plucky heroine emancipating herself, a sultry lesbian potboiler, or your standard obsessive cop/crook mirrored-existence caper ? The film wisely never takes itself too seriously (there's a great moment when Winger fobs O'Quinn off with a pat psychiatric diagnosis of Russell and then cracks up into hysterics) and it's so beautifully made that I can easily forgive it the odd cliché. It has a great old-fashioned style reminiscent of the big women's pictures of the thirties and forties, with elegance to spare; sumptuous costumes by Patricia Norris and exquisitely crystal-clear primary colour photography by Conrad Hall, with light bouncing off every surface possible and gorgeous locations (New York, Washington DC, Seattle and Hawaii). Best of all though are the cast - Winger is just sensational as the driven Alex, in equal parts meek and brash, and Russell as Catharine / Marielle / Margaret / Renee is the definitive thinking-man's homicidal crumpet - stunningly beautiful, devious, just a little bit nutty, alternately bewildered and cool as ice. Why can't we have more action/thriller movies with two lead actresses like this ? The supporting players are also superb; Williamson as a nervous anthropologist, O'Quinn as the concerned mother of a boss, a hilarious Hong as a seedy private-eye ("No knock !? Come into a person's office, no knock !!"), Hopper as a good-ol'-boy toy tycoon, Rossi as a doubting Thomas local cop, Woronov as scuba-diving instructor and playwright Mamet as a poker-player. There are lots of terrific moments in this movie (my favourite is the wedding gift scene) and thanks to Rafelson's polished, cool direction, it has a classy, seamless, elegant atmosphere.

• Stimulating film about obsession, nicely directed as a thriller by Bob Rafelson.

  TheVid2004-01-29

  Winger and Russell are sensational here, characteristically different yet essentially the same in nature. The sinister plot trappings and black widow symbolism keep the film lively but only serve to heighten the intriguing subtext of two women obsessed with success and competition. Winger is exceptional as always, and while Russell is notably uneven as usual, they both succeed admirably. All the supporting parts are brilliantly played. This is one of the finest and most enjoyable femme fatale films around. A widescreen version is thankfully now available on DVD from Fox.

• Investigator Becomes Obsessed By Femme Fatale

  seymourblack-12011-05-14

  "Black Widow" is an entertaining thriller about a psychopathic killer called Catherine Paterson (Theresa Russell) whose modus operandi involves marrying and murdering wealthy men before inheriting their fortunes and disappearing without trace. This woman of many identities is eventually pursued by a government agent and an unusual and intriguing relationship soon develops between the hunter and the hunted. When a Justice Department agent who's involved in analysing computer data inadvertently discovers the existence of a series of deaths that bear certain similarities to each other, she becomes convinced that they're all the work of a serial killer. Unfortunately for Alexandra "Alex" Barnes (Debra Winger), her suspicions are based on intuition rather than hard evidence and she's unable to convince any of her colleagues or superiors that her findings warrant investigation. The cases that Alex has studied involve the deaths of middle aged men who were married to a significantly younger woman. They had all died in their sleep and their deaths had been attributed to a rare condition called Ondine's Curse. Alex's persistence eventually pays off and she's authorised to go undercover to identify her suspect and prevent any further victims from being added to the list. Alex's investigations lead her to Hawaii where she meets up with her suspect and the two women develop a friendship and become attracted to the same man. Catherine marries Paul Nuytten (Sami Frey) who's an international hotelier but when the police are investigating his apparent murder, they find evidence which points to Alex's guilt and she seems to be in a tight spot when she subsequently gets arrested and imprisoned. An unusual feature of this movie is the nature of the relationship which develops between Catherine and Alex. The two women are quite different as Catherine is glamorous and Alex dresses in a style which is more dowdy and unattractive. Alex seems to deliberately play down her femininity but at the same time appears to be fascinated by Catherine who unashamedly and very successfully, uses her sexuality to get whatever she wants. The sexual undercurrent which is hinted at initially is reinforced in a scene in which the two women practice mouth to mouth resuscitation on each other and also on another occasion when Catherine grabs Alex and kisses her aggressively. They bond by sharing things but there's also a lack of trust between them as neither loses sight of the fact that they are actually adversaries. Catherine Paterson is a fascinating femme fatale who's very meticulous in researching her potential victims. She's very skilled at learning all the things she might need to know to communicate easily with her targets and also has a marvellous ability to change everything about herself in order to snare her next victim. Depending on which husband she has at the time, Catherine is variously seen as being sophisticated, a woman with a strong Texan accent or a more reserved lady who's rather demure. Theresa Russell is particularly good at conveying Catherine's mysterious nature, her uncertain motivations and of course, the different characteristics she assumes when she's in the company of her various husbands. Debra Winger gives a fine performance as the dedicated workaholic who's obsessed with Catherine and determined to bring her to justice. The supporting cast are also good and James Hong is terrific in his minor role as a sleazy and sharp tongued private eye.

• Now frequently on Fox Movie Channel...

  MarieGabrielle2008-10-14

  This film is a guilty pleasure from the go, go 80's, when money was a balm for all things, and everything over the top was fun. Teresa Russell is very good as the elusive "Black Widow", a beautiful and mysterious chameleon who marries wealthy businessmen, somehow rids herself of them, and financially profits in the process. She goes from NYC society matron, to Texas redhead, to Seattle museum doyenne, to Hawaiian princess. She looks the role, and Debra Winger is very good as the frumpy FBI detective who must catch her. There are also some memorable cameo roles here, Lois Smith as a former sister-in-law, and Diane Ladd as the suspicious relative in Texas who is bought off with a substantial six-figure gift. The sets are believable, and the final set in Hawaii is also balmy and mysterious. Sami Frey portrays the final husband, and there is a twist at the end. 9/10. Recommended.