This movie is a clever throwback to the film noir classics of the 1940's. I picked up the DVD for $6.99. It was well worth it. The cinematography captures the heat and humidity of a Florida heat wave. (Not all of it from the bodies of the two main characters - Matty and Ned.) The dialogue cleverly works the metaphor of the heat into the steamy affair that Matty (Kathleen Turner) is having with the small-town lawyer (William Hurt). This is one of the earliest films for both Turner and Hurt.
Not surprisingly, the plot involves a murder and the contrived entanglements along the way. Not in the same league as Chinatown as a latter-day film noir, it nevertheless holds the viewer's attention through the expected and not-so expected twists and turns. Ted Danson gives a great supporting performance as Ned's drinking buddy. It is hard to shake the image of Sam Malone behind the bar in Cheers but he comes close in this role. Mickey Rourke, one of the brat pack actors from the 80's, also pops up in the film. The film is largely forgotten more than 25 years on (were the eighties that long ago?)but it is still well worthwhile. As with the film noir genre, happy endings are not the norm, only survivors and victims.
