Body Heat
released 1981
www.ink2quill.com

“Body Heat” is an American, erotic, crime, thriller set in the style of Hitchcock. It was produced by George Lucas and Fred T. Gallo and written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The music was done by John Barry and it stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J. A. Preston, Mickey Rourke, Kim Zimmer, Jane Hallaren, Lanna Saunders, Carola McGuinness, Michael Ryan, Larry Marko, Deborah Lucchesi, Lynn Hallowell, Thom Sharp, Ruth Thom, Diane Lewis, Robert Traynor, Meg Kasdan and many others.

Body Heat IMDb webpage

“Body Heat” is the story of sloppy, philandering lawyer Ned Racine, played by William Hurt, who falls head over heels for the sultry wife of a shady tycoon. The wife´s name is Matty Walker, played by Kathleen Turner, and she seems as smitten with Ned as he is with her. This all takes place in the sweltering Florida heat. The weather is hot but beautiful and everybody is sweating. As the temperatures rise so do the passions and scheming between the couple. They think up the perfect crime but when you add betrayal and the investigative work of seasoned detective Oscar Grace, played by J. A. Preston, into the mix the story is anything but a simple case of murder.

“Body Heat” is a dated film but still a good watch. That means you have no cell phones, PCs, internet. It´s an analogue world and that only adds to the charm of the film. The character of Ned is charming and unscrupulous to the ladies and a sloppy lawyer. He´s the type of guy who charms his way out bad situations and generally gets away with things. It´s no surprise to find as the story progresses that he is a deeply flawed person. At first, Ned comes across as a carefree guy who doesn´t sweat the small things but as the story develops we get a better picture of him and see that he´s a kind of sloppy moocher who doesn´t care about his job or the quality of his work or even people. He is a guy who looks for the easy way out and for someone else to bear his burdens.

Where this film really succeeds is how it shows the unravelling of a criminal plan and its cover up. Ned did not commit the perfect crime and yet the perfect crime was committed. It´s a tale of stupidity, greed, ineptitude, sinister passions as well as dogged determination from the detective Oscar and the meticulous, sinister planning from the evil Matty. I liked Oscar and, in my opinion, he´s the best character in the story. Oscar has all the qualities Ned lacks. He is meticulous and doesn´t cut corners. He´s a highly moral person and Ned is not.

The best way to describe this film is to say that it´s like watching a fly caught in a spider´s web. It really is a good watch, even after all these years. So check it out and enjoy.

John

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