Mortal Thoughts (1991)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers:

William Reilly (writer) &
Claude Kerven (writer)

Release Date:

19 April 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Murder is a secret that should never be shared.

Plot:

Cynthia comes forward to talk to detective John about the murder of her best friend's husband. The story is told as a series of flashbacks...

Plot Keywords:

Flashback | Abusive Husband | Murder | Dysfunctional Marriage | Title Based On Shakespeare

Cast

Demi Moore	...	Cynthia Kellogg
Glenne Headly	...	Joyce Urbanski
Bruce Willis	...	James Urbanski
John Pankow	...	Arthur Kellogg
Harvey Keitel	...	Det. John Woods
Billie Neal	...	Det. Linda Nealon
Frank Vincent	...	Dominic, Joyce's Father
Karen Shallo	...	Gloria, James' Mother
Crystal Field	...	Jeanette, Joyce's Mother
Marianne Leone	...	Aunt Rita (as Maryanne Leone)
Marc Baron	...	Usher (as Marc Tantillo)
Doris McCarthy	...	Pat, Cynthia's Mother
Christopher Scotellaro	...	Joey, James' Brother
Ron J. Amodea	...	Band Leader
Leonid Merzon	...	Yuri

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, momentary violence, and for some drug content.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The James Urbanski role was only a tiny part in the film until 'Bruce Willis (I)' agreed to do the film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Camera crew reflected in the van when Joey drives away from Cynthia.

Quotes:

James: Where's Mr. Morehead?
Joyce: Who?
James: You know, Mr Morehead.
Joyce: Who's that?
James: Arthur, got more head than hair.

Movie Connections:

References "The Simpsons" (1989)

Soundtrack:

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

Demi Moore very good in a better than expected film

`Mortal Thoughts' is another of those films which I nearly did not see, not because of any forgetfulness on my part, nor from any other involuntary reason, but quite frankly I tend to avoid any film with people like Bruce Willis (you can put in the names of Lundgren/van Damme/Stallone/Bruce Lee and other assorted muscular brainless types at your leisure) playing the big macho he-man; I'd rather have a try at cards on the computer, even though the two of clubs always goes missing when I most need it. As well as that, the title did not seem very inspiring. I mean, just how many films are there with the word `mortal' in them? I will tell you: just over 200 including video films etc. according to IMDb's incredible search facility.

As luck would have it, firstly there was not anything else on to while away a couple of relaxing hours, and secondly a few well-written commentaries from other IMDb users (I do not take any notice of badly-written commentaries, though of course I do take into account those little mistakes that creep in to commentaries written by people whose mother-tongue is not English) suggested that I was about to see a perfectly acceptable film.

How right they were, I am glad to say. If on the one hand Bruce Willis' participation is somewhat limited and what he did was really quite decent, on the other, a very young-looking Demi Moore (29 when she made the film) played a stirring rôle, which helped to put this thriller drama a head above most of similar ilk.

Alan Rudolph's directing of a well-written script produced a more than acceptable result, aided by those timely flash-backs between the interrogation and previous events. The formula was intelligently employed, such that at no time did you feel you were getting lost anywhere along the line - as so often happens in other films trying to use the flash-back/flash-forward method.

Cynthia (Demi Moore) is `helping police enquiries', which means interrogated, into the death of her best friend's husband (Bruce Willis), and as she recounts events, the film flashes back, at times even synchronising with the dialogues in the interrogation. A handy device, which lent much to the coherence and continuity. Good work here by Demi Moore and Glenne Headly as her best friend, and it was real good to see Harvey Keitel as the detective (see him in `Shadrach' (1998) (qv), Ridley Scott's classic `Thelma and Louise' (1991) and in `The Piano' (1993), to name a few of his best rôles.

As in all films of this genre, there is that plot twist in the denouement, but in this case perhaps it misfires a little: it left me with a slight taste of incoherence after all that had happened. It left too many incognitos floating about. Perhaps the idea was not too well thought out, or perhaps I was left with the two of clubs and nowhere to put it...... Maybe I am being a little unjust, or pedantic, as the film is worth your while with some interesting interpretations from all concerned.

Just about 6 out of ten on my scale, or a couple of decimals higher.