triple8 SPOILERS THROUGHOUT POST: Rich Man's Wife, starring Halle Berry, has one major flaw that I saw and that is to take out all the things that make psychological thrillers great and put in all the things that make them problematic. As such, this movie let me down many times throughout.As thrillers go, this one actually starts OK. In fact the cinematography is great and the story is at first interesting. But the movie goes nowhere. Everything that's bad in psychological thrillers appears(car chases, chases on foot, ominous music, violence, characters who just seem like caricatures, plot holes that are absolutely unexplainable, and much much more). It's all here in The Rich Man's wife. The Movie does not leave any of these things out. Throw in characters who seem to make bad decision upon bad decision solely for the purpose of making a movie and one has The Rich Man's wife.Now I'm not sure if it's the writer to fault-because most of the bad things seem like standard stuff thrown into lots of bad movies. What's frustrating about this one though, is that it starts halfway interesting. I'll admit it doesn't stay that way for long but still..I will also say I am not quite sure this wasn't meant to be a parody. There are just to many things that don't make sense in any other context but parody. For example, how each and EVERY character seems to be a caricature. We get the raging psychopath (played quite well actually by Peter Greene.) The cops who seem to be in another world altogether, the hysterical put upon heiress(Berry who is never quite convincing here) and a few more . This movie had me rolling my eyes in quite a short period of time, such as when Cole chases Josie into her cabin and she, screaming and shrieking as she runs for her life, then proceeds to leaves the door open for Cole to follow her into the cabin.The Rich Man's wife had a great cast but doesn't seem to care if the audience buys any of what is happening on screen. If it's purpose is just to entertain fine but to do that more effectively, it should have dropped some of the clichés and melodrama.If I find out this was meant to be a comedy I will change my vote from 3 to 6 or maybe even 7. But as of right now, my vote stands at three. The main positives were the fact it really didn't bore all that much, AND Clea Lewis as the bitter ex wife of Josie's lover. She was so funny! What a great performance. It's almost worth it to see the movie just for her.Rich Man's wife also almost crosses into that "so bad it's good" category. But it doesn't quite make it. It had to much potential to go in to many really interesting directions. Some of the characters' dialog were as over the top as the plot twists. Also, Halle's hysteria got a bit tiresome after awhile, though she's a great actress I am a bit tired of her always playing roles where she's hysterical. All the scenes of Josie running for her life-oh man, I think I started to lose count. And I will agree with so many others-the "twist" is completely over the top, a complete rip off from Usual suspects and, rather then thinking "Clever movie" at the end, as with suspects, one just feels a bit ripped off. The "twist" changes the meaning of virtually everything and makes every scene in the movie meaningless, one has no idea what the real story is and it's completely unnecessary because that twist, as with many other, (actually most) things in the movie, is just one more letdown. (I also think this movie had a bit of "Mortal Thoughts" in it as well as Suspects.) So while I wasn't bored, loved the cast, and thought the premise had potential I am giving this a 3. But I am still not convinced this wasn't, at least in part a parody.Anyway, not the worst but could have been better.

dragoneyez01 Josie and Tony Potenza are your typical (Hollywood) upper-crust couple. The middle-aged Tony (Christopher McDonald) is somewhat of an apathetic husband and an alcoholic, but is an otherwise loving husband with a thriving career as a film executive. Josie, the wife about half his age, feels neglected by him, but hides her concerns because she still loves her husband (and the money, let's not kid ourselves). Their flawed, but satisfactory life goes awry one night when Josie admits her marital problems to a Cole (Peter Greene), a total stranger who she becomes acquainted with after her car breaks down and he helps her out. Unfortunately for Tony, she also admits to Cole she sometimes wishes Tony was dead. Despite taking the comment back, Cole appears to take Josie's words seriously, and the problems ensue.The cast, especially the supporting actors, bring a rather pedestrian script to life. Halle Berry is not only beautiful, but a competent actress in any role (aside from Catwoman), and in the context of the first 93 of the films 94 minute runtime, she does extraordinary as a woman lost in a situation which is totally out of her control. Christopher McDonald is great as usual, and fits the role of a wealthy, apathetic husband well. Peter Greene and Clive Owen (Josie's boyfriend) both work with what they have, and Clea Lewis (who I never heard of before this film) brings some mild humor.The plot itself is nothing particularly new or original, but it grabs your attention slowly and when it has you hooked, it doesn't let go. While most of the material is recycled from previous (and better) films, it's presented in a manner that's still refreshing, and the characters hold it together.Of the crew, the cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, displays his talents the best. There are many great sweeping shots of the mountains and forests, and the film as a whole has a glossy, well-composed look to it.And there you have it: the good. The film's first 93 minutes is time well spent. The plot is interesting, the acting is above average, and film is well-shot.Unfortunately, the last 60 seconds, yes, sixty seconds, is the film's undoing. I won't spoil the "surprise," but it is a twist ending that will cause you to scratch your head for a few minutes, and then make you wish you hadn't wasted your time. It seems like no thought went into the twist ending, and it was just tacked on because it was a popular thing to do. And with the twist at the end, gaping plot holes are left in the film. Horrible to end to an otherwise good movie. So, please take my advice. It's not such a bad movie, but skip the last 60 seconds or you'll feel cheated out of your time and intelligence.

arosser-1 Watch closely to the first 40 minutes. Chris McDonald (always portrayed as the nemesis of good people everywhere, and does a good job of it) is assumed to be a total jerk. Not so, he's got a cliché drinking problem, he's a workaholic, and is having an affair, reciprocated by his wife. And this makes him evil? Watch her closely! Little naive, working class GOLD-DIGGER! The best part of the those first 40 minutes is the waitress's reaction to her bs when she's "confiding" with the bad boy.Who wrote this crap? It's like a romance novel with an IQ of 27, give or take 26.Don't even bother unless you have some very, very delicate (don't hurt her feelings) axe (arse) to grind.See ya.

Michael O'Keefe Amy Holden Jones writes and directs this tense drama about a beautiful woman(Halle Berry)who feels her wealthy husband(Christopher McDonald) is not spending enough time with her. She makes a mistake telling her marital woes to a stranger who decides to help her out by killing her husband. She of course becomes the prime suspect and ends up dealing with a double cross times two. Her husband left a strong prenup in his favor and did not leave a will. The finale offers one hell of a twist. Rounding out the cast are:Clive Owen, Peter Greene, Frankie Faison and Clea Lewis. At times this thriller drags a bit; but I did not watch this for the story. I watched this for the sensual Halle Berry.