To Die For (1995)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers (WGA):

Joyce Maynard (book)
Buck Henry (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

All she wanted was a little attention.

Plot:

Suzanne Stone is an aspiring TV personality who will do anything to be in the spotlight- including enlisting 3 teenagers to kill her husband.

Plot Keywords:

Broadcast | Beautiful Woman | Ambition | Panties Hit The Floor | Fame

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Suzanne Stone Maretto
Matt Dillon	...	Larry Maretto
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Jimmy Emmett
Casey Affleck	...	Russel Hines
Illeana Douglas	...	Janice Maretto
Alison Folland	...	Lydia Mertz
Dan Hedaya	...	Joe Maretto
Wayne Knight	...	Ed Grant
Kurtwood Smith	...	Earl Stone
Holland Taylor	...	Carol Stone
Susan Traylor	...	Faye Stone
Maria Tucci	...	Angela Maretto
Tim Hopper	...	Mike Warden
Michael Rispoli	...	Ben DeLuca
Buck Henry	...	Mr. H. Finlaysson

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, and for language.

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:110 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The story is set in New Hampshire, but filming took place almost entirely in and around Toronto. Torontonian director David Cronenberg appears in a cameo ("man at the lake").

Goofs:

Continuity: When Suzanne Stone removes the video tape from her camera just after recording her self-interview the tape is already fully rewound.

Quotes:

Jimmy: I'll be here every day for life, plus 30 years, if I live that long.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

GODANGINUTA

One of the few really good films of the modern era

I'm a little hesitant with my rating of 8 because this isn't really a film to be taken too seriously; having said that, I was glued to the screen and it holds up to repeat viewings so that says a lot.

It's peculiar that the closing credits of this film bear the usual disclaimer that "any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental" when the film is in fact the story of New Hampshire school teacher Pamela Smart, who did indeed co hearse a teenage student into murdering her husband in pretty much the exact same manner as depicted here. Writer Buck Henry has changed the characters name, occupation, and a number of the irrelevant details, but this is unmistakably the Pamela Smart story.

Played as dark comedy...! The heretofore unimpressive Buck Henry redeemed himself in my eyes with this wickedly amusing script.

While peppering us with the kind of mirroring observations about the shallowness and stupidity of the media and the society it reflects which makes us both laugh and squirm with more than passing discomfort, the top-notch cast masterfully play out the excellent script in such a mesmerizing fashion you simply will not believe nearly two hours are gone when it is over.

Nicole Kidman in particular displays intelligence and acting prowess I never imagined her capable of; she is in practically every frame of the film and while her character is truly despicable, you can't stop watching. The three teens, played by Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, and Alison Folland (who stands out as the easily led girl with a not too subtle lesbian infatuation on Suzanne Stone) are engaging. Perhaps the best of the cast after the lead is Illeana Douglas as the deliciously smart ass sister-in-law, she had me in stitches! From the opening credits of rushing reporters superimposed over headlines and newsprint, to the closing credits overlaid with the rather brilliantly selected Donovan song Season of the Witch, this one is a must see film from an era of otherwise bland cinema.