#also the colouring in this episode drives me bonkers but it's such a great episode and hilarious and it's like my fave right now

[disappointingyet]

The Last Seduction

Director John Dahl Stars Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, JT Walsh, Bill Nunn UK/USA 1994 Language English 1hr 50mins Colour

Gloriously nasty 1990s noir

[Spoilers about the events of the first 10 minutes or so of the movie]

Is the greatness of The Last Seduction a marvelous accident? (You may, of course, not agree that it’s a a great movie). Why an accident? Because although this was the writer’s first movie, he only has two further credits. Because although John Dahl was a promising director making his third movie, in the quarter century since he’s only made five more. And, most of all, I guess, because Linda Fiorentino gives such an indelible performance, yet by the end of the decade her career was effectively over and in 2009 she officially called it quits. 

I think that summary is unfair to Dahl, at least: he’s one of several directors who made good low-budget movies in the 1990s who have gone on to have long, steady careers in the waves of great TV that followed – he’s done episodes of Billions, Justified, The Americans and Dexter, to give just a small sample. As for Fiorentino, I can’t presume to know whether her failure to become a big star was down to bad luck, Hollywood’s misogyny, her own character or some combination of the above. 

After watching the film again, though, what I can say is I still think she’s extraordinary here.* She plays Bridget Gregory, who wants the kind of Manhattan apartment that her job as a manager at a telemarketing firm and her husband’s income as hospital resident won’t pay for. So Clay Gregory (Bill Pullman) does a drug deal – which, presumably, is Bridget’s idea – and then she double-crosses him, drives off with the cash and ends up laying low in Beston, a characterless town in upstate New York.

In Beston, she has what’s meant to be a one-off screw with none-too-bright local Mike (Peter Berg), which sort of becomes an ongoing thing. 

In a way, the tension of the story comes from a situation where Bridget’s been advised by her lawyer Frank (JT Walsh) to sit patiently until her divorce comes through, but she’s not prepared to be passive. She’s spotting opportunities and using them to build a scheme to protect the fruits of her first crime. 

The great JT

What occurs to me is that although the femme fatale drives the events in, say, Double Indemnity (which The Last Seduction references) and Basic Instinct (a huge recent hit when this came out), we don’t see the story from her point of view. The perspective in those movies, and in most others in the tradition I can think of, is of the manipulated man.** But The Last Seduction is emphatically Bridget’s story. 

And, doubling-down on that, Bridget has little vulnerability and no warmth or empathy.  Mike says to her: ‘I'm trying to figure out whether you're a total fucking bitch or not.’ and Bridget replies: 

‘I am a total fucking bitch’.

The closest thing she has to a friend and confident is Frank, and while she clearly enjoys his amorality and the fact that he trades insults with her, she’s also relying on attorney-client privilege. Walsh – one of the great character actors – and Fiorentino seem to have a terrific energy together but since all their conversations happen over the phone, who knows if they were actually even acting together?

Bill Nunn!

So it’s up to Fiorentino to carry the movie and she does. She makes Bridget a compelling and convincing sociopath rather than a cartoonish character. She finds a way to make the spirit of Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity work in a post-innuendo age. And Dahl keeps the film lean and efficient around her. Along with Walsh, there’s able support from Pullman (who, like Fiorentino, was somewhat older than the character he was playing) and Bill Nunn as a private eye. Peter Berg went on to be better known as a director and exec producer than actor, but this is one of his better roles.

A passing thought on the question of genre, even though I know these are just arbitary categories we give movies. Like most critics I tend to think of The Last Seduction as a noir (or neo-noir, if you like) rather than considering it an erotic thriller, which is what the production company allegedly thought they were getting and which its none-of-the-cast-or-main-crew sequel The Last Seduction II presumably is. Part of that might just be snobbishness – I like this therefore I’d rather slot it  alongside, say, Scarlet Street than the movies starring assorted Shannons that followed in the wake of Basic Instinct or indeed Jade, the William Friedkin/Joe Eszterhas movie Fiorentino starred in shortly afterwards.  (Then again, I’ll make the case for the bonkers but in places briliantly made Basic Instinct – absolutely an erotic thriller – anytime). More to the point, though, is the fact that the sex scenes in The Last Seduction are all short and plot-relevant – it is (like the noirs of the 1940s) a film whose sexual charge comes through atmosphere and dialogue rather than flesh. 

However, there’s a clear difference in style from Dahl’s debut, Kill Me Again, which although it was set in the present day had lots of scenes that were clearly trying to evoke the 1940s in their look. The Last Seduction in its lighting and sets and technology is unashamedly early 1990s. There are a couple of things that can be seen as retro nods – Bridget’s hair has a Veronica Lake shape to it, for instance – but its noirishness is much more about the characters and the narrative than the visuals. 

Oh, and I like the way that in the outdoor shots in NYC the shots emphasise the height of the buildings and bridges*** to provide a contrast for when we reach low-rise Beston.

(Quick note: if you were born after the film was made and have 2020-flavour progressive sensibilities or are older but share those concerns, there are a couple of things in this film you may regard as problematic.)

Which I guess brings us to the final question: rewatching it in 2020, was I as blown away by The Last Seducation as I was in 1994? Absolutely.

*And I think she’s good in Men In Black and Dogma and – but I want to check this sometime soon – After Hours.

**I’m sure there will be some that pre-date this. But the Wachowskis’ Bound, for instance, is a couple of years after. ***I know, I know, but you can film at eye-level rather than frame your characters tiny against tall buildings. 

#the last seduction #linda fiorentino #jt walsh #john dahl #bill nunn #film noir #neo-noir #1990s movies

[hentaihunblog-blog]

The iDOLM@STER SideM Episode 13 [FINAL]

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/31/the-idolmster-sidem-episode-13-final/

The iDOLM@STER SideM Episode 13 [FINAL]

I hate to say this, but I am really disappointed with the finale. About eight minutes into the episode, I realized I was bored. I was not engaged with the performances whatsoever but I couldn’t understand why, but by the end I knew what it was. This joint-concert was hyped up to be a major accomplishment for the group, but the biggest qualm I had was the fact we didn’t get to experience their journey to that point whatsoever. There were no serious trials they had to overcome, not like the challenges we have seen in The iDOLM@STER or even The iDOLM@STER Cinderella series. Instead this finale left me with a sense of a wasted potential. We had a group of amazing and charming characters here, but we were never given the opportunity to watch them grow. I also have a big problem with the fact they even bothered to add the twins to the cast, especially in the middle of the series. At that point, both Beit and S.E.M were already restricted to having one episode, so just adding yet another group we’ll never learn about (unless we play the game) doesn’t help whatsoever, and only makes the situation worse. In fact when you look back, the only group that were given more screen-time than Dramatic Stars (privileged as the main characters) were HighxJoker and Jupiter (if you include their special) who got two episodes. And what sucks even more, is when Kaoru’s conflict takes so long to get around to, and when they finally do, it felt rushed and anticlimactic. This series certainly would have benefited having more episodes to work with, just so the character would have room to grow and have the time to tell their own stories.

Another problem I had with the finale was how a large portion of the episode contained recycled footage, and as result lacked impact. I was especially disappointed we did not get to watch them perform Glorious Road, but instead the track rolled in the background as they reviewed everyone’s journey up until now via flashbacks. Though to be fair, it was well put together. Gave me a bit of the feels, despite the underwhelming journey.

Also, this has been bugging me since the beginning of the series, but… Is Kyouji’s hair supposed to be dyed back and forth or something? This isn’t the first time we have seen his brown hair go black. I can’t tell if this is a colouring flaw that will be resolved in the BD/DVD release or this is intentional to reflect the lighting. Either way it’s something that drives me bonkers when I see it because it makes me confused!

On the more positive note, god the songs were so good, and it’s what I love about SideM the most. Each unit has their own distinct sound, and I don’t know about you, stands out- in a good way. I find when someone has a unique voice, it makes it easier to recognize them amongst the blurs of the sounds. Among my favourites besides Jupiter (oh my god, I LOVE  ‘Planet scape’ I’ll be listening to that over and over again!) were Dramatic Stars and HighxJoker. Truth be told, I like them all (except for W, not feeling that one) but I wished we had more air time for BEIT and S.E.M. to showcase their vocals.

Final Verdict:

The iDOLM@STER SideM was something I have been waiting for since I watched The iDOLM@STER back in 2011. I fell in love with Jupiter and itched to learn more about them, and truth to be told I was sad when I realized Jupiter would not be the main characters of this show. However instead much to my pleasant surprise, we were introduced a bunch of endearing new characters, and all I could wish for is that we had more time to learn more about them. I don’t know if SideM will have a second season, but I fear if they do they will be introducing even more characters (as implied of Producer scouting someone with a radiant aura), leaving the cast we had fallen in love with in the dust. SideM is a show who definitely would reap the benefit having more episodes to work with. Without a doubt, SideM biggest flaws were the lack of depth in its story and the character development among the cast is virtually nonexistent, with the exception of perhaps Kaoru. It is a shame it had to end this way, and how we weren’t able to learn more about the others, but it doesn’t mean it was horrible. SideM is not great but it’s not bad either, it’s more in the middle where I would describe it as “It’s okay…” It certainly not a must watch show, but it’s also not something you’re going to miss if you choose to skip out on it.

Overall Score: 6/10

Story/Plot: 4/10 

Characters & Development: 6/10

Animation Quality: 6/10 

Original Soundtrack: 9/10

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