Body Heat (1981)

Body Heat (1981)

French title: La Fièvre au Corps (Body Temperature)

Body Heat could have been a very good film. A film for men who love women (and vice versa), where you are quickly rewarded by the steamy romance that drives the film. It was the first feature film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who had previously worked as a screenwriter for Spielberg (Indiana Jones) and Lucas (Return of the Jedi); Body Heat catapulted Kathleen Turner (who had come from television) to film stardom.

Four years later, Kasdan directed one of my favourite Westerns, Silverado (1985). He’s quite a surprising director, given that he also made Dreamcatcher (2003), an adaptation of a Stephen King story. In 1995, he brought together Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline in French Kiss, a rather hilarious romantic comedy.

In a small town in Florida, Matty, a femme fatale, convinces her new lover, the shabby lawyer Ned Racine, to kill her wealthy and troublesome husband, in the hope of getting her hands on a share of his fortune.

Fans of this film appreciate it for its excellent cinematic quality and aesthetic appeal. The plot captivates with an interesting story and gripping twists and turns. The film’s atmosphere is described as a masterpiece of sensuality. It could be said that this is an erotic thriller that speaks volumes about male sexuality and man’s immeasurable weakness in the face of the opposite sex when the latter seeks to take advantage of him. Body Heat breathed new life into a genre that had fallen somewhat out of favour at the dawn of the 1950s.

The atmosphere is one of sweltering heat. But the film’s two real sources of passion are female: John Barry’s score (omnipresent, languid and dramatic) and Kathleen Turner. A star of such cult films as Romancing the Stone (1984), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Kathleen Turner has now faded from the public eye. She was one of the leading actresses of the 1980s before her career stalled in the years that followed, largely due to her illness, rheumatoid arthritis. She also appeared in The War of the Roses (1989), in which she was reunited with Michael Douglas. It was she who lent her deep, sensual voice to the character of Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).

Of course, some things have dated and wouldn’t go down well nowadays. Breaking a window to get into a house and having sex with the willing landlady is likely to cause a stir even today. It’s one of the rare occasions I’ve heard a character say he feels as though his penis, which has turned red, is going to fall off, it’s been used so much! This makes the dialogue a bit too blunt, but also natural and raw!

Indeed, one of the film’s strong points, apart from its direction and its cast, is undoubtedly the dialogue, which at times stands on its own as a masterpiece. Sadly, that’s not the case here!

And what a male cast! William Hurt (Gorky Park, A History of Violence), Ted Danson (Dad, Creepshow), Richard Crenna (Rambo 1 to 3) and Mickey Rourke (Homeboy, The Wrestler).

However, despite all the good things I can say about it, I didn’t really enjoy this film that much! Let me explain: representative of the neo-noir wave that began to sweep through Hollywood in the 1980s, this debut film by Kasdan doesn’t rise above the status of a well-executed assignment. It’s the sensible homework of a diligent schoolboy, but lacking in genius.

Far removed from the nested narratives of a De Palma (Pulsions, Blow Out) or the metaphysical brilliance of the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing), this Body Heat merely rehashed a formula worn thin by decades of Hollywood classics centred on the femme fatale. Admittedly, the actors are all good, but there’s nothing transcendent about it either!

The stifling atmosphere of Florida is well captured, and the night-time cinematography is lovely, but beyond that, it’s a bit of a stratospheric void. The unease that emanates from this adulterous relationship is, ultimately, very vague and rather artificial. There are no flaws in the characters, who carry out their murderous plan as if the film noir cliché exempted them from any ambiguity.

Nor are there any real surprises in the plot twists, with the tropes being used shamelessly. As for the direction, it is certainly pleasant and effective, but lacks a fresh perspective, with no particular vision other than that of slavish imitation.

A good rendering of the oppressive atmosphere of the South, but a somewhat tedious sense of déjà vu. There are no surprises in this all-too-predictable plot involving a femme fatale using her seductive charms to get rid of a troublesome husband. The ending is as conventional as can be, to the point that, as soon as the film ended, I found myself wondering what the point of it all was. Not very credible!

A racy, true-life thriller packed with all the genre’s essentials, including nude and/or risqué scenes that are inevitably sexy… which must have caused quite a stir at the time! All spiced up with some petty blackmail.

To conclude:

Spoiler Alert!!!

I’ve finally got round to watching this film (in the middle of a heatwave) that I’ve wanted to see for ages… and I was rather disappointed, although it’s not all bad. A film noir exuding great sensuality, due to the romantic blindness that drives the hero’s actions. A very beautiful young woman, who is married, seduces a lawyer and leads him down the path to murder. He then realises he has been manipulated (his letterhead and name were used to draw up a false will…) and, moreover, uncovers the young woman’s false identity. The friendships he maintained before falling into the trap – with the public prosecutor, a senior police officer – and his complicity with a ‘good-natured’ gangster whom he had helped get out of prison, make this an almost decent crime thriller.