The neo-noir craze of the early nineties offered up some classic films (THE GRIFTERS, AFTER DARK MY SWEET, RESERVOIR DOGS, etc.). The 1993 indie THE LAST SEDUCTION (1993) doesn’t rank among them, but did offer up an interesting take on the femme fatale trope, and contained a true performance for the ages by Linda Fiorentino.
THE LAST SEDUCTION (1993) Trailer
THE LAST SEDUCTION followed two previous neo-noirs, KILL ME AGAIN (1989) and RED ROCK WEST (1993), made by its director John Dahl. It was released theatrically in 1994 after screening on HBO (who shelled out a reported $1 million for the privilege), and so, in a widely publicized controversy, ruled ineligible for Academy Award consideration.
It marked a comeback for Fiorentino, who’d made her mark in VISION QUEST and AFTER HOURS (both 1985) but then disappeared for several years. Following her LAST SEDUCTION inspired 1990s renaissance, which led to roles in high profilers like MEN IN BLACK (1997) and DOGMA (1999), she disappeared again.
In THE LAST SEDUCTION Fiorentino plays Bridget Gregory, a leggy brunette who fits in well with the amoral seductresses that tend to populate film noir. The major difference between this film and the classics is that the femme fatale is made the protagonist, a gambit that’s been tried elsewhere without success (BASIC INSTINCT 2 comes to mind), but actually works here.
Bridget’s true nature is made clear in the opening scenes: she’s a greedy, narcissistic, conniving bitch who runs a sleazy telemarketing outfit. She’s married to Clay (Bill Pullman), an even greedier, more narcissistic and more conniving upscale drug pusher. They reside in New York City, at least until Bridget decides to decamp with a large sum of Clay’s money. She ends up in Beston, a small midwestern town.
There Bridget rebrands herself Wendy Kroy (a backwards variant on “New York”) and finds work as a secretary. She also hooks up with Mike Swale (future director Peter Berg), a troubled insurance adjuster recovering from a bad breakup. He becomes her “designated fuck” despite the fact that she makes no effort to hide her true nature; to his claim “I’m trying to figure out whether you’re a total fucking bitch or not,” she responds: “I am a total fucking bitch.”
She hatches a scheme to use Mike’s database to find unfaithful husbands and then make a deal with their wives to have the cheaters killed. This, it turns out, is a ruse, with Bridget’s true object being the murder of Clay, who’s figured out where his spouse is located and dispatched spies to keep track of her doings. She of course outsmarts the spies, finding clever ways to sabotage them (a la Eddie Murphy in BEVERLY HILLS COP), including the laying low of a black man (Bill Nunn) in a deeply politically incorrect, and so untenable by modern standards, manner. Bridget’s ultimate aim is for Mike to head to New York and kill Clay, which he, unbelievably enough, agrees to do. Bad idea.
This film is very much in keeping with Hollywood’s idea of feminism: the heroine is impossibly intelligent and self-possessed from the start (meaning there’s no character arc to speak of), and all the male characters are impulsive idiots. The ending adds an out-of-left field transgender twist that falls flat (not least because THE CRYING GAME beat this film to theaters and handily stole its thunder) and a fade-out that feels anticlimactic.
The film is nonetheless quite slickly made. John Dahl, helped immeasurably by a jazzy up-tempo score by Joseph Vitarelli that effectively counterpoints the darkness and cynicism of the narrative, turned out a film that’s smooth and efficient. The painfully low budget (the major stumbling block of Dahl’s earlier films) is well concealed, and the performances are uniformly engaging. That’s true especially of Linda Fiorentino’s turn, which combines old school glamour with a very up-to-date sex appeal.
Even more impressive, Fiorentino gets the viewer to root for her character despite the fact she is, frankly, evil, and that the screenplay by Steve Barancik (NO GOOD DEED) fails to properly flesh her out. It’s left to the actor to render the role compelling, and the actor in this case was up to the challenge.
Vital Statistics
THE LAST SEDUCTION
Incorporated Television Company/October Films
Director: John Dahl
Producer: Jonathan Shestack
Screenplay: Steve Barancik
Cinematography: Jeffrey Jur
Editing: Eric L. Beason
Cast: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, J.T. Walsh, Bill Nunn, Brien Varady, Dean Norris, Donna Wilson, Mik Scriba, Herb Mitchell, Jack Shearer, Walter Addison, Renee Rogers