A Perfect Murder

If you are going to remake an Alfred Hitchcock film, better the stagey, lesser-known Dial M for Murder than the sacred Rear Window or Psycho (both of which, incredibly, are coming soon). This high-gloss adaptation of the suspenseful workhorse stars Michael Douglas in his element as a businessman whose portfolio is going "Chernobyl" and whose trophy wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is having an affair with an artist (Viggo Mortensen). Douglas blackmails the artist (more of a scam artist as we soon learn) into killing her for her $100 million inheritance. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) manipulates audience sympathies à la the Master, but this is faint praise. None of the characters are very likable, but as the film unfolds and the plot unravels, our attention is maintained waiting to see what will happen next and how Douglas will (try to) wriggle out of it. Also: while the fateful phone call that triggers the attempted murder worked well in 1954, it is less credible in the ‘90s. How did Douglas know that his wife wouldn't just let the answering machine pick up? Recommended, with reservations. (K. Lee Benson)