Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck
Running Time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: The small town of Little Hope, New Hampshire is scandalized by the arrest of local television weather girl Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) for plotting her husband's murder. In flashbacks and witness interviews, Suzanne is revealed as ambitious, vain, and obsessed with being on television. She marries Larry (Matt Dillon) but is always more interested in her career. After securing a job at a local cable station, she starts work on a documentary featuring underachieving high schoolers Jimmy, Russell, and Lydia (Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, and Alison Folland). When Larry attempts to constrain Suzanne's ambitions, she initiates a marriage escape plan through a nefarious seduction of the particularly dim Jimmy.
What Works Well: Inspired by the Pamela Smart story, writer Buck Henry adapts Joyce Maynard's book into a sly mockumentary packed with astute celebrity culture observations. Director Gus Van Sant wades through the toxic combination of ambition, narcissism, and obsession with fame, and adds femme fatale sex-as-a-weapon noir shadings. Suzanne, Jimmy, Lydia, and Larry's sister Janice (Illeana Douglas) expand on their side of the story straight to the camera, stirring manipulation and victimization into a frothy mix. Nicole Kidman achieves a career highlight conveying the complex contradiction of limited smarts and sexual allure colliding with over-confidence and self-delusion.
What Does Not Work As Well: Given the comprehensive character investments, the resolutions are abrupt, including a barely-there investigation and a frigid mop-up. Suzanne's lack of forethought after she wriggles free of marital shackles is inconsistent with the preceding level of connivance.
Key Quote:
Suzanne: You're not anybody in America unless you're on TV. On TV is where we learn about who we really are. Because what's the point of doing anything worthwhile if nobody's watching? And if people are watching, it makes you a better person.
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