Writer Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, among others) made a splashy directorial debut in 1981 with Body Heat, a tribute to classic film noir, specifically the 1944 Double Indemnity and the 1946 The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Grade: B+
Kasdan redefined the neo-noir with this sweaty thriller, spicing things up with a sexual candor between its two leads.
Departing from the usual locale of film noir, Los Angeles (and especially Hollywood), the tale is set in a hot and humid Florida coastal town.
The protagonist is Ned Racine (William Hurt, perfectly cast), a decent and vulnerable attorney, who becomes smitten by and then quickly obsessed with the alluring Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner).
Ned is manipulated into killing Matty’s much older husband, Edmund (Richard Crenna). The plan relies on Ned’s knowledge of legal matters, which they hope will enable both of them to escape. But Matty, who knows her sexual power, is smarter and greedier than Ned, and she manipulates him all the way to the bitter end.
Just when it seems as though the film is too derivate and has run out of plot twists, there’s a nice surprise, boasting the kind of ending that would never have been possible during the era of the Production Code.
Turner, in her most assured film debut, is as sensual as Hollywood’s classy femme fatales.
“You’re not too smart, are you?” she observes ay one point with her throaty voice. “I like that in a man.”
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Theatrical release poster
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There’s excellent chemistry between her and William Hurt (at his most appealing), which more than justifies the film’s title.
You can spot the young Mickey Rourke in a small but striking part, just before he went on to co-star in Barry Levinson’s Diner, in 1982.
The movie was moderately popular at the box office, earning $24 million against a production budget of $9 million.
End Note:
Body Heat is still the most fully realized film that Kasdan has made, though his follow-up, The Big Chill, in 1983, is his best-known film, garnering a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Credits
Directed, written by Lawrence Kasdan
Produced by Fred T. Gallo, Robert Grand
Cinematography Richard H. Kline
Edited by Carol Littleton
Music by John Barry
Production company: The Ladd Company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date: August 28, 1981
Running time: 113 minute
Budget $9 million
Box office $24 million
