Raw Heat
Product Description
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/23/2003 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg13Amazon.com
It gradually dawns on therapist Tess Parker (JoBeth Williams) that the shocking claims her patient Carla (Virginia Madsen) makes about a former lover dovetail to a startling degree with facts she learns about Paul Tomlinson (Pierce Brosnan), the smooth English professor she’s currently wacky over. Is Paul merely a feckless womanizer, or are there darker sec… More >>
I thought it had great apeal. Very twisted turn of events that keep you hanging and guessing.
Rating: 3 / 5
This wanna-be Hitchcockian thriller shamelessly rips off scenes from Vertigo, Psycho, and North by Northwest, with the music of Richard Stone imitation Bernard Herrmann via Pino Donaggio. Psychologist Jobeth Williams is dating Pierce Brosnan, the same man who it turns out is also dating her patient, Virginia Madsen. Or is he? The time it takes Jobeth to realise such a faux pas makes her seem rather dim, though she appears to be preoccupied in showing how she thinks she can do sexy. It is unfortunate that her (many!) love scenes with Pierce play so awkwardly, though having Pierce recite Edgar Allan Poe badly doesn’t help. Madsen probably comes off best. She manages to invest emotion and truth in what is a cliche role of the woman scorned. Jobeth has some tiny moments, particularly with her friend played by the baritone-voiced Georgia Brown. Director Jerry London gives us a juggling clown to represent Jobeth’s confusion, and rain to accompany Billie Holiday singing Stormy Weather.
Rating: 1 / 5
Is dashing Pierce Brosnan a wife murderer?
Is he a manipulative cad? Is he telling the truth or is Virginia Madsen? And why is an average looking Jobeth Williams such a desired commodity for Brosnan?
These and many other questions are left unanswered in this made for TV dud. The script tries to be Hitchcockian in its many twists, but Hitch knew how to make those twists convincing, whereas the writers of RAW HEAT merely hoped for any similarities. Williams as a shrink does a real no-no in revealing something a client told her in confidence; she also vacillates back and forth in trying to assess Brosnan’s duplicity, and the end is so uh-oh, what have I done, it makes no sense. And who really killed Brosnan’s wife?
Brosnan is an automaton, capitalizing on his suave looks, and Madsen shows some of the talent that would eventually lead to her Oscar nominated performance in SIDEWAYS. But RAW HEAT is DEAD COLD in my book.
Rating: 2 / 5
The cheesy late 80′s-early 90′s saxophone aside, it’s pretty good, for something of this genre. THe first love screen between the two main characters is red-hot, as are the rest of them. There’s a lot of twists and turns that leave you wondering if Paul (Brosnan’s character) is bad or good, but ultimately, you realize it’s Pierce Brosnan, who cares, I just want him.
Solid work from everyone and a decent way to waste a weekend or weekday afternoon.
Rating: 3 / 5
I was not expecting a good movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend this movie. Pierce Bronson is sexy and so is Jo Beth Williams. A real thriller-under-rated.
Rating: 4 / 5