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The Last Seduction (1994) DVD Review
The Last Seduction (1994) DVD Credits:
The Last Seduction (1994) Directed by:
John Dahl
The Last Seduction (1994) Written by:
Steve Barancik
The Last Seduction (1994) Cast:
Linda Fiorentino, Bill Pullman, Peter Berg, J.T. Walsh
The Last Seduction (1994) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
2
The Last Seduction (1994) DVD Release Date:
11th June 2006
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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The Last Seduction (1994) Synopsis:

Bridget Gregory has a lot going for her: she's beautiful, she's intelligent, she's married to a doctor. But all of this isn't enough, as her husband Clay finds out. After she persuaded him to sell medicinal cocaine to some drugdealers, she takes off with the money, almost a million dollars, and goes undercover in a mid-American smalltown. Because Clay has to pay off a loan shark who'll otherwise damage him severely, he keeps sending detectives after her, trying to retrieve the money. When Bridget meets Mike Swale, a naive local who is blinded by her beauty and directness, she devises an elaborate, almost diabolical scheme to get rid of Clay once and for all.

The Last Seduction (1994) DVD Review:

Bridget’s (Fiorentino) husband Clay (Pullman) has just pulled off a $300,000 drug deal but instead of celebrating she runs off with the money. Ending up in Beston, outside of Buffalo she changes her name to Wendy Kroy and gets a job working for the local insurance company, so she can lay low. Then she meets Mike (Berg), who is just a bit of fun at first but as he becomes besotted with her she realises that she can manipulate him into doing anything.

Manipulation can be a very powerful weapon for anyone but put it in the hands of a femmefatal and you have some who can wrap people around her little finger.

Director John Dahl 1994 modern film noir creates one of the great femmefatals in recent cinema. Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy uses her famine wilds to pull men into her deviant plans as she manipulates everything to her advantage. In Linda Fiorentino, he found an actress who is both incredibly sexy but with an air of intelligence that makes you understand why men fall for her and how she can them to do anything, even murder.

This was a breakout role of Linda Fiorentino and one that will probably define her career. She creates a character that the audience can see is despicable but one that men are instantly draw to for reasons they can only fathom. Almost nonchalant in the way she reacts to Mike’s attention, as the film progresses it comes to light that she knows exactly what she is doing and everything is calculated to perfection, even when things seem to be going wrong. Fiorentino is exceptional throughout, combining beauty with cunning, as she smokes her way through the proceedings.

Supporting the leading actress are two actors who play against type. Bill Pullman’s career has been filled with more heroic and leader roles, playing nice guys that you could trust but as Clay Gregory he plays a real nasty piece of work. A slacker who thinks nothing of slapping his wife, he makes a living by selling prescriptions to drug users and has just pulled off the biggest deal of his life. This is a role that proves that Pullman could do much more, if he was offered riskier scripts. Peter Berg has become a director to watch as of late but he made his name as an actor, mainly on TV in shows like ‘Chicago Hope’ and ‘Alias’. As Mike, he plays a loser in love, who has recently got married only to leave his wife back in Buffalo, when things didn’t quite work out. When he meets Bridget/Wendy, he quickly becomes obsessed and then will do anything for her, even murder.

‘The Last Seduction’ is a modern film noir that works superbly. With great performances bringing some despicable characters to life, this is a movie that twists and turns and keeps you intrigued for its entire duration. When you bear in mind that none of these characters are partially likeable this is a film that highlights the worst elements of the human race but one that uses that to the best of their ability.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the presentation is OK but not as sharp as it could have been but this is a low budget feature.

BONUS FEATURES

The Art of Seduction (29.01 mins)
Director John Dahl, writer Steve Barancik, star Bill Pullman and interviews from 1994 with Linda Fiorentino and Peter Berg talk about the making of ‘The Last Seduction’. The interviewees reveal what the studio wanted from the movie and then doing something completely different. They talk about how different and revolutionary the role of Bridget was and how it revolutionised leading female parts in the 1990. They also talk about the casting of the roles of Mike, Bridget and Clay and how they got away with making an art movie without the studio’s knowledge. These are good interviews but it would have better if Linda Fiorentino and Peter Berg had of contributed.

Original Trailer (1.39 mins)
Watch the 1994 theatrical trailer that really doesn’t make the movie look like it actually is.

Behind the Scenes (8.32 mins)
Watch B-Roll footage from the 1994 shoot. Here we see behind the scenes of the return from the deal and the slap, Ray’s Bar and Bridget’s introduction, after the crash and the opening scene.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment of ‘The Last Seduction’ is OK but could have been so much better. While the interviews are good and reveal much about the films production but a commentary track would have been just as good. The booklet is nice inclusion and a good read for fans but there should have been so much more.

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The Last Seduction (1994) DVD review written by: Jamie Kelwick

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