The Last Seduction

John Dahl made a trio of entertaining neo-noir thrillers, Kill Me Again (1989), Red Rock West (1993) and, best of all, The Last Seduction (1994). It was the third that made the biggest impact, even though the film premiered on HBO, the response from critics and film festivals was such that it earned a belated theatrical release. Sadly the HBO airing made Linda Fiorentino ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Actress — her femme fatale Bridget Gregory was among the most talked about performances of the 1990s.

After ripping off her abusive husband’s ill-gotten gains, Bridget hides out in a small town and picks up a naive insurance agent in a bar (Peter Berg). She soon decides he has his uses, and tries to manipulate him into helping her with a murderous scheme. Meanwhile, a private detective hired by her husband is on her tail.

This is a rare noir told with the femme fatale as the protagonist. And while Bridget is ruthlessly amoral (she’s no hypocrite), she’s also several degrees smarter than anyone else in the movie, which makes her quite irresistible — or at the very least, very entertaining to watch.

Dahl gives us Linda Fiorentino as the baddest of the bad women, the most full-blown yet utterly believable femme fatale to come along in years.

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A devilishly entertaining crime story with a heroine who must be seen to be believed.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

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