seymourblack-1 Everything about "The Last Seduction" is totally outrageous; its characters, its plot and most of all its femme fatale who scales previously unchartered levels of wickedness and cruelty in order to satisfy her lust for money and her desire to eliminate her husband. Realism and suspense are the main casualties as this cleverly plotted thriller entertains by being provocative, humorous and nicely twisted. As a 1994 neo-noir, it's stylish, well-written and in contrast to its 1940s and 1950s predecessors, is also able to end in a way that wouldn't have been possible in the days of the Hollywood Production Code.After completing a drug deal with a couple of very threatening gangsters, Clay Gregory (Bill Pullman) returns to his New York apartment with his nerves in shreds and $700,000 stuffed inside his shirt. With enough cash to pay off his huge gambling debts and buy a smart penthouse apartment, he's starting to feel relieved until his sharp-tongued wife, Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) calls him an idiot and he responds by slapping her across the face. When he then decides to take a shower, Bridget promptly bags all the money, leaves the apartment at great speed and doesn't stop until she gets to a small town called Beston (near Buffalo). There, in a small bar, she gets picked up by a local young man called Mike Swale (Peter Berg) and they launch into an affair in which she's the dominant partner and uses Mike purely as a "sex object".Bridget, (now calling herself Wendy Kroy), takes a job at the Beston insurance company where Mike also works as a claims adjuster and ignores him when he says that he wants a relationship that's more than purely physical. Her main preoccupation is to devise a way of keeping all the money she's stolen and making sure that her husband isn't able to claim any of it. Clay is desperate because he's being "leaned on" heavily by the loan sharks who want him to repay his debts and so he hires a private investigator called Harlan (Bill Nunn) who traces Bridget and makes an attempt to recover the money. The way in which Bridget deals with the threat that Harlan poses turns out to be amusing, unorthodox and ultimately, very effective.Through his work, Mike is aware of a method of recognising cheating husbands by checking out their credit card arrangements and when he tells Bridget the details, she soon gets to work on a plan to use this method to set Mike up to kill Clay. Inevitably though, numerous problems then arise as the not-very-bright Mike attempts to complete his mission.One of the best features of this movie is its dialogue which is often sharp and witty with Bridget's conversations with her lawyer Frank Griffith (J.T. Walsh) providing some particularly entertaining exchanges. At one point he asks "Anybody checked you for a heartbeat lately?" and on another, when she asks "Are you still a lawyer?" he replies "Are you still a self-serving bitch?" Linda Fiorentino's character in the movie has all the typical femme fatale qualities, such as being manipulative, treacherous and deadly but is also incredibly ill-mannered, coarse and amoral as she ruthlessly deals with every man who gets in her way. Fiorentino does a great job of displaying all the swagger, attitude and coldness that makes Bridget Gregory so odious and memorable and Bill Pullman and Bill Nunn also do well in their supporting roles.

FilmCriticLalitRao American director John Dahl's film "The Last Seduction" has been described as a 'film noir'.This is not a very apt description for a film which has numerous comedy and drama elements in its screenplay. Based on an original screenplay his film depicts how some men are fooled by a beautiful looking vicious woman who would go to any extent to earn money.Although the film begins in New York city there is much to learn about American culture once its action shifts to a small town.It is funny to watch how there are hardly any black people in that town.Moreover,the attitude of town's inhabitants is extremely partial when they see a black man in their midst.Domestic violence has come to be known as a global problem.This film is one of the few crime films which did not choose to ignore the depiction of domestic violence in order to distance itself from society's ills.Apart from actress Linda Florentino's performance as an outstanding "femme fatale",there are nice performances by Bill Pullman and Peter Berg as idiots who allow a beautiful looking lady crook to fool them.

Tweekums In most cases a film's protagonist will have some redeeming features; not here though Linda Fiorentino plays Bridget; a woman with a heart of ice. Wanting to move up in the world she gets her dentist husband to sell pharmaceutical cocaine which nets them three quarters of a million dollars. He makes a big mistake though; he hits her and she walks off with the lot. Knowing he'll come looking for her she leaves New York and drives till she runs out of fuel. She finds herself in the small town of Beston and goes to the local bar and meets Mike, a man who dreamt of leaving the town but after his marriage went wrong in Buffalo returned. It doesn't take long for her to get into his bed and, after talking to her lawyer, she decides to stay in Beston. Now going by the name of Wendy Kroy she contacts her husband not expecting him to be able to trace the call. Now she must find away to get rid of him permanently! She works at an insurance company with Mike and comes up with an idea to make money… identify rich cheating husbands and the call the wives offering to kill the cheats! Mike is understandable less than keen and when he sees evidence that she has been to Miami he confronts her… she tells him she had been paid to kill one such man and shows him a brief case full of money; now it is his turn.Linda Fiorentino was fantastic as Bridget/Wendy, her character may be manipulative, murderous and thoroughly unpleasant she is a delight to watch and the viewer may find themselves rooting for her in a way they never would in real life! She is able supported by Bill Pullman who played her husband and Peter Berg who played the in-over-his-head Mike. The story is entertaining and as the final scene arrives the viewer will realise that Bridget was even more devious that initially suggested; that takes some doing. I would certainly recommend this neo noir thriller; just don't expect a nice heroine!

Dhruva Somayaji That's the word-surprise!!I just happen to watch the movie and never had any great expectations out of it. but damn!! it was really a good one.The plot might not look so great but the way in which the movie progresses and the deviousness of the lead actress unfolds is simply amazing.It has good amount of suspense, sex and most importantly thrill all toasted well.The lead actress is just brilliant in her acting as well as the body language. This movie has the quality and the qualification to be a good crime thriller!!