Mad Magazine named it "Basically Stinks". A bit harsh perhaps.
This is not so much about Stone playing mind-games on the perpetually-horny Douglas so much as it is about Esterhaz's script playing mind-games with the viewer.
An extremely convoluted plot; this level of complexity is more often found in political thrillers than in regular cops'n'robbers ones. I'll give credit to Esterhaz for creating a very interesting, original story, but the man isn't undeservedly known for writing illogical scripts. Clearly, his priority is to generate suspense and as many plot twists as possible - no complaints there; those things are always welcome.
However, he does this at the expense of the logic; there are so many coincidences, contradictions, and just general far-fetchedness that even a hairless 14mm kangaroo fetus can figure out that various facts do not add up. By the last quarter of the movie all the (more relevant) evidence points to Tripplehorn as the killer. But, Esterhaz being a thrills-at-the-expense-of-logic seeker that he is, made that predictable last-minute thriller-movie twist: Stone has an ice pick lying beneath her bed, while she has sex with Douglas in the movie's last scene. What does this mean? It implies that Stone is the killer. (Unless that was a complete coincidence; the ice-pick somehow slid from the kitchen and landed under the bed. Or, perhaps, she placed the ice-pick there knowing that she can play mind-games with the audience as well. Am I being stupid? Not any more than this plot.)
However, Tripplehorny had too many motives, too dubious a past, was too emotionally involved - in short: far too suspicious - not to be the killer. And the very coincidence of her being in the building when Douglas killed her shakes away the last iota of doubt about her guilt. Yet, Tripplehorny and Stone cannot both be killers. Or can they...? Esterhaz never suggests this, but the only "logical" explanation, one which would at least tie up some loose ends, would be the following: Tripplehorn and Stone were in it together from the very beginning, just for kicks. I know; it sounds ridiculous, and entails additional illogicalities. But it would at least explain how the hell Stone had all that information about Douglas which he himself at one point said only Tripplehorny had knowledge of, or access to. This is never explained. Since the bald, I.A. dead cop wasn't the one who sold the info to Stone (nor could he have - he didn't know the intimate details which only Tripplehorn knew) it must have been Tripplehorn; this is a fact. But if she interacted with Stone then nothing makes any sense. It's a no-win (no-logic) situation. There is also the "minor" detail of both Stone and Tripplehorn having extremely questionable pasts, with dead bodies lying all around them; this would implicate both.
There is absolutely no point in going further into the complexity of illogical errors which Esterhaz undoubtedly commits. He wanted to entertain, and succeeded. His past scripts have shown him that you can have success with illogic, so he bravely marched on with yet more absurd material - right into the offices of Hollywood bosses. And they took it.
The film is without a doubt very interesting, at times suspenseful, and there are plenty of twists and revelations to avoid any boredom. That way the viewer is happy, Esterhaz is rich, the studio has a success on its hands, Stone finally makes it big, and Douglas gets to yet again have sex with attractive women all over the furniture. Everyone's happy.
This is not so much about Stone playing mind-games on the perpetually-horny Douglas so much as it is about Esterhaz's script playing mind-games with the viewer.
An extremely convoluted plot; this level of complexity is more often found in political thrillers than in regular cops'n'robbers ones. I'll give credit to Esterhaz for creating a very interesting, original story, but the man isn't undeservedly known for writing illogical scripts. Clearly, his priority is to generate suspense and as many plot twists as possible - no complaints there; those things are always welcome.
However, he does this at the expense of the logic; there are so many coincidences, contradictions, and just general far-fetchedness that even a hairless 14mm kangaroo fetus can figure out that various facts do not add up. By the last quarter of the movie all the (more relevant) evidence points to Tripplehorn as the killer. But, Esterhaz being a thrills-at-the-expense-of-logic seeker that he is, made that predictable last-minute thriller-movie twist: Stone has an ice pick lying beneath her bed, while she has sex with Douglas in the movie's last scene. What does this mean? It implies that Stone is the killer. (Unless that was a complete coincidence; the ice-pick somehow slid from the kitchen and landed under the bed. Or, perhaps, she placed the ice-pick there knowing that she can play mind-games with the audience as well. Am I being stupid? Not any more than this plot.)
However, Tripplehorny had too many motives, too dubious a past, was too emotionally involved - in short: far too suspicious - not to be the killer. And the very coincidence of her being in the building when Douglas killed her shakes away the last iota of doubt about her guilt. Yet, Tripplehorny and Stone cannot both be killers. Or can they...? Esterhaz never suggests this, but the only "logical" explanation, one which would at least tie up some loose ends, would be the following: Tripplehorn and Stone were in it together from the very beginning, just for kicks. I know; it sounds ridiculous, and entails additional illogicalities. But it would at least explain how the hell Stone had all that information about Douglas which he himself at one point said only Tripplehorny had knowledge of, or access to. This is never explained. Since the bald, I.A. dead cop wasn't the one who sold the info to Stone (nor could he have - he didn't know the intimate details which only Tripplehorn knew) it must have been Tripplehorn; this is a fact. But if she interacted with Stone then nothing makes any sense. It's a no-win (no-logic) situation. There is also the "minor" detail of both Stone and Tripplehorn having extremely questionable pasts, with dead bodies lying all around them; this would implicate both.
There is absolutely no point in going further into the complexity of illogical errors which Esterhaz undoubtedly commits. He wanted to entertain, and succeeded. His past scripts have shown him that you can have success with illogic, so he bravely marched on with yet more absurd material - right into the offices of Hollywood bosses. And they took it.
The film is without a doubt very interesting, at times suspenseful, and there are plenty of twists and revelations to avoid any boredom. That way the viewer is happy, Esterhaz is rich, the studio has a success on its hands, Stone finally makes it big, and Douglas gets to yet again have sex with attractive women all over the furniture. Everyone's happy.