Color of Night (1994)
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Bill Capa is a psychologist whose world is shattered when one of his patients commits suicide during a session with him. The shock of it causes him to quit his practice and he flies out to California to stay with a psychologist friend, Bob Moore. Moore tells Capa that he has been receiving death threats and is soon murdered in his office. Capa is persuaded to take over the group of patients that Moore has been helping out in group sessions and soon realizes one of them is the killer, but can’t figure out which one it is. However once the patients start to die, Capa will have to expose the killer before he meets an untimely death too.
Overall: Almost universally reviled, this film really isn't that good. It's fairly clear early on what is happening and frankly, without giving too much away, it's quite clear who the mysterious girlfriend everyone seems to have. I think the turning point of the film for the viewer is when the detective looks at the group and asks, "You were all going out with the same woman and didn't realize it?" That’s the problem with the story...it's not common-sensical that this many people are this blind. It's probable that the viewer can't figure the film out very early on. I’ll grant you that when you find out the ultimate truth you'll be thinking, "Ok, I didn’t really see all of that..." but frankly, you'll get the clue about 30 minutes in. If anything, the film is more about sex, nudity and nude men more than it is about horrific murders or suspense. You get more than enough of Bruce Willis' naked body than anyone ever needed and frankly, the idea that the thin, flat, woman who basically looks about 12 years old is having such passionate, erotic sex with a guy in his 40's just looks wrong at times. It's a movie full of mystery and film-noir clichés and too much nudity (as if that was possible...). It really is like 2 to 3 separate films squished into one. One just about sex between "Rose" and "Bill." Another is a murder mystery involving 5 patients and 2 doctors. The 3rd is about this transgender-ed kid whose brother wants less help for him, not more help. It's got a really nice cast overall: Bruce Willis, Scott Bakula, Lesley Ann Warren, Lance Henriksen and Kevin J. O'Connor (take a look at his weight in this film and compare to "The Mummy"). But the film is just a mess of clichés and things that don’t work. The characters can't be this stupid not to see what's going on. Frankly, same with the audience. If you watch this movie, you are only seeing it for Ms. Jane March. Comparison: The Lover meets Basic Instinct |
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