This is a terrific movie that reminds one what we lost when Debra Winger slowed down her movie-making. She gives an honest, heartfelt performance as an investigator chasing a woman who marries rich and whose husbands wind up dead every time. The widow then remakes her appearance, gets a new identity, and dupes another man. Only Winger is convinced that this trail of murders is the work of one woman.
Eventually she catches up with this black widow (Theresa Russell) and the two hang out together in Hawaii. The Russell character likes the danger – she knows Winger is after her, and after trying to kill her during a scuba dive, saves her at the last minute.
My favorite scene with Winger is the one in which she almost tells Nicol Williamson the truth about his bride. She stands and stares at him – she knows he’s going to die, she knows he won’t believe her – you can see every thought in her head until, regretfully, she leaves.
Theresa Russell has the right detachment for this role. One suspects the character is a real man-hater and is, in fact, attracted to Winger. Winger is admiring of Russell’s constant flirtation with danger. This is a complex relationship that the two play out. The finale is not up to the standard of the rest of the film, but I still highly recommend it.
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