Rating: 
Summary: To Die For
Review: Nicole Kidman plays Susanne Morretto a woman determined to be a tv news anchor woman ..By any means neccassary....When her husband Larry wants to begin a family she decides to get rid of him by using high school kids she was doing a video diary on....
Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Psychpath
Review: Nicole Kidman plays the perfect psychopath in TO DIE FOR. The psychopath is the one area of psychology that no one has a cure for. Psychopaths lack moral impulse. They not only don't have the vaguest idea of what right and wrong mean, but they also don't understand why other people can get all exercised about violations of right and wrong. Kidman in the movie doesn't murder because it's calculated and she can get away with it; she doesn't even think that far ahead. And that's what makes acting a role like this so blamed difficult. Kidman pulls it off in what I regard as one of the two greatest bravura female acting performances in the past quarter century. (The other is Kate Nelligan in the 1981 movie, EYE OF THE NEEDLE.) If only the screenplay were up to Kidman's level, it would shake five stars out of me. There's a little too much fussing about with the teenagers, and some scenes last too long. A good editing job could have trimmed ten or fifteen minutes out of this movie and made it one of Hollywood's all=time best. But, given what we have, if you watch it only for Kidman's incredible, incredible performance, you'll get a lot more than your money's worth.
Rating:
Summary: oscar worthy performance from kidman
Review: Nicole Kidman should have won an oscar for her electrifying, cold blooded and ruthless portrayal of Suzanne Stone. A career best performance and movie for her and everyone else who made the flick.
Rating:
Summary: oscar worthy performance from kidman
Review: Nicole Kidman should have won an oscar for her electrying, cold blooded and ruthless portrayal of Suzanne Stone. A career best performance and movie for her and everyone else who made the flick.
Rating: 
Summary: A shameless copy of Pamela Smart's Story
Review: Nicole Kidman was incredible in this movie. It was one of the best acting jobs I've ever seen. However, this was a shameless copy of the Pamela Smart Story. The writing at the end said that this was fiction and that any similarities to it would be entirely "coincidental." Give me a break! They followed Pam Smart's story right down to the killing scene when the teenager said "God forgive me" before shooting a man dead. How does Hollywood get away with this? The show 'Hard Copy' caught on and showed the movie to Pam Smart. She was furious. Hollywood is shamless in stealing other people's stories for profit.
Rating:
Summary: Could this be Kathie Lee?
Review: Not that Kathie Lee could ever fill the shoes of the character in this movie, the sick shallow element of her overblown self worth is ever present. This film is well executed by it's players. Matt Dillon is always and will be the most underrated actor of his time. As for Ms. Cruise she has demonstrated a wealth of diversity in most of her films. This movie will hold you. The supporting cast is wonderful and very well known.
Rating:
Summary: ICY, SATIRICAL DARK COMEDY
Review: Nothing like a little dark humor and feminine fangs to make a mash of the culture driven by 15-minutes-of-fame. In this case, a riveting Nicole Kidman as a perky, self-obsessed suburban nutcase who has big dreams of finding fame and fortune, even at the expense of her husband. Directed by Gus Van Sant in his usual cobbled-together manner (hoary, quasi-documentary devices to propel the screenplay, regular flashbacks, direct-to-the-camera diction, etc..) based on Buck Henry's trippy adaptation of a novel by the same name. The result is a pleasantly watchable movie that moves quickly and keeps you guessing the limits to which our protagonist would limp to achieve her ambitious goals. I felt that the premise, beyond its chirpy surface, is quite thought-provoking. If our perky weather reporter were to be successful in her quest then we could believe that total dedication to a quest is admirable and ultimately rewarded -- regardless of the means employed. Can we condone murder though? Perhaps we are offered a tongue-in-cheek hyperbole that extremes are necessary if we are to escape our station in life. This movie apart from amusing you will surely leave you with something to savor, not just off its theme but from the brilliant supporting performances of Casey Affleck, Matt Dillon and especially Joaquin Phoenix. Recommended rental.
Rating:
Summary: Hi honey, did you miss me ? ... Did you dream about me baby?
Review: So asks Suzanne Maretto (Nicole Kidman) of her husband Larry (Matt Dillon) in the bedroom of their Florida honeymoon hotel. But her loving attitude towards her new husband soon changes as their marriage progresses. Soon she's had enough of him and wants him out of the way so she can pursue a career in the world of television. Larry doesn't realise that Suzanne would even put her career ahead of his own life. Suzanne enlists the help of 3 teens to do the dirty deed. The main one being Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix, brother to the late River Phoenix who played a young Indiana Jones in the 3rd Indy film). Suzanne uses her body to convince Jimmy to murder Larry. Jimmy mistakenly believes that if he kills Larry, then he can "sleep over" at Suzanne's place every night. Danny Elfman (of "Batman" and "Batman Returns" fame) provides the music for "To Die For". Filming mainly took place in Toronto, with Larry and Suzanne's romantic honeymoon filmed in Florida. This was Nicole Kidman's big film role and really enhanced her career. Matt Dillon doesn't really have a whole lot to do in the film. The film is at times nasty but it does have its good moments. "To Die For" deserves repeated viewings and I give the film 4 stars (and as a male, 5 stars for Nicole Kidman in her tight leopard skin outfit).
Rating:
Summary: It seems some amateur critics have missed the point entirely
Review: That's right. Suzanne Stone is NOT cold blooded. She is ambitious, young, not wonderfully intelligent and rarely taken seriously. This film's subtly powerful accusations on the professional world's sexist undertones are what make this film so powerful. Some may confuse Kidman's performance as weak, yet I found that the superimposed stoicism of her character is what makes her all the more emotional and REAL. The film comments beautifully on the the idealized "Brilliant Beauty" and "Femme Fatale" that is so often seen on screen and so rarely in the real world. It attempts to deconstruct this stereotype's opposition to the "Beautiful-but she's a moron" stereotype. Kidman gives Suzanne Stone what she needs to be both pitied and hated. However, the direction seems to be more in favor of the "hated." It is easy to watch this film and hate a woman like this, but the film is manipulative, like the news. The subtle innuendos may be too subtle, but this may have been a directors decision to give the film a more "true to life feel." I.E., the subtle sexism in the professional job market. You need to see this one.
Rating:
Summary: Sublime and Vastly Underrated
Review: The fact that To Do For is not more highly regarded is a mystery to me. It only garners a 6.7 on IMDB.com. All of the ingredients were there, an incredible and gifted director in Gus Van Sant, what I consider to be Nicole Kidman's finest performance, a wicked and not just satirical script and an excellent supporting cast. Of particular note is Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Jimmy Emmet, the typical high school metal head loser who becomes obsessed with Kidman's evil character, Suzanne Stone-Maretto. Phoenix is a gifted actor with a wide pallet to choose from. Contrast this performance with the job he does of playing The Abbe in Quills. It makes his role in To Die For all the stronger. Allison Folland is also a standout in her debut performance as Jimmy's pathetic friend Lydia Mertz. Together with Casey Affleck as Russel, the three unwittingly become assassins for the callous Mrs. Stone. The story is built up very effectively, and as a viewer there is never any doubt that these three "dorky" kids will pull the murder off. Also magnificent and lending strong supporting roles are Dan Hedaya and Illeana Douglas who play Larry Maretto's father and sister, respectively. The part of Larry is played with near perfect un-bravado by Matt Dillon, who does so without his usual pomp and bluster. Basically, Larry is the perfect everyman trying to do right by his new wife and family [....]Hedaya is perfectly cast and uses his natural menacing qualities quite well. My favorite though, is Janice Moretto, Larry's sister played by Douglas, who is the only character who sees Suzanne for what she really is. The dancing on the grave ice-skating bit at the end is also really well done. Douglas doesn't fall once. Hats off to Van Sant for a creating a satirical masterpiece that contains enough side elements to hold the viewers attention through more than one viewing. For instance, what exactly is Suzanne's relationship with her father? Also, the fact that Janice is most likely gay and this might be why she understands Suzanne so well. Cudos as well to the director for the style he employed, blurring the line between film and documentary. Some people have argued to me that To Die For contains too many cuts and flashbacks and consequently the viewer has a difficult time following the action. I do not find that to be true. Quite the opposite, I find the film to be compelling. Even after at least five viewings, To Die For firmly holds my attention throughout.
| 
