To Die For (1995)

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

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Joyce Maynard (book), Buck Henry (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Suzanne Stone
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

Storyline

Suzanne Stone (Maretto) knows exactly what she wants. She wants to be a television newscaster and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.

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Plot Keywords:

new hampshire | career | murder | fame | television | 

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Taglines:

She knew what it took to get to the top... a lot of heart and a little head.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, and for language

Details

Country:

USA UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prête à tout

Filming Locations:

King City Secondary School, King City, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$21,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the novel "To Die For", on which the movie is based, Suzanne Stone Maretto states on page 307 that she would like to see "that actress that just got married to Tom Cruise in real life" play her in a movie about this. This refers to Nicole Kidman who later played Suzanne in the movie.

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Goofs

When Larry and Suzanne are in Miami on their honeymoon they are enjoying a warm, sunny day and Larry is in a colorful tropical shirt. But his breath is clearly visible when he speaks.

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Quotes

Lydia Mertz: Suzanne used to say that you're not really anybody in America unless you're on TV... 'cause what's the point of doing anything worthwhile if there's nobody watching? So when people are watching, it makes you a better person. So if everybody was on TV all the time, everybody would be better people. But, if everybody was on TV all the time, there wouldn't be anybody left to watch, and that's where I get confused.

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Crazy Credits

The credits say that Misha is played by Walter but in fact, in the movie the dog's name was Walter and its real name is Misha.

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Connections

References Mod Squad (1968)

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Soundtracks

SEASON OF THE WITCH
Written by Donovan (as Donovan Leitch)
Performed by Donovan
Courtesy of Epic Records and EMI Records Ltd.
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing and EMI Special Markets UK

User Reviews

90's Masterwork

Gus Van Zant's wildly original take on the pursuit of fame at any price is a gruesome black comedy that works flawlessly on every level. Van Zant comes at his story from the viewpoint of a series of narrators who see through media lusting Susan Stone Marretto as she stops at nothing to bask in it's spotlight. The media in turn is more than willing to accommodate.

Nicole Kidman as Susan is intimidating beyond the screen as she narrates much of her story into the camera. In addition to her remarkable seductive charm being put to use she also intimidates with a convincing icy coldness. She is the bold and the beautiful and Kidman is perfect to the role.

Having bullied her way into a job as a weather forecaster at a small audience cable station Susan never stops shooting higher. She enlists three aimless high schoolers in a plot to kill her husband so as to unburden her to pursue her career. With sex as a tool it is easy to convince the moronically dim Jimmy who masturbates to her late night forecasts to come on board. The three teens Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck and Allison Foland are uniformly brilliant particularly Phoenix as the clueless doomed Jimmy. Her husband Larry (Matt Dillon)it might be said is in the same boat. Dillon along with Ileana Douglas and Wayne Knight fill out the solid supporting cast as narrators and victims of Susan.

Buck Henry's biting script shows he has not lost his edge since his Graduate days. Director Van Zant's vision of a fin de siecle cross section of America is brutal and original. From those laboring for the American Dream to the bleak Lidsville existence of the teens Die burns with both nervous energy and tragic-comic farce. Accompanied by an all inclusive period music score Vant Zant's wide angle is both brazen and revealing from gaudy colored suburban drab sterility with hints of incest to tragic siding housing and an auto graveyard landscape that serves as a playground to the teens. Told in flash forward and back Van Zant's pace never lingers for a moment as it rapidly presents an in your face comic and tragic pastiche of dark Americana. Van Zant admirably expresses it with a bold visual flair keeping scenes lean and sharp that over a dozen years later still retain there power and energy. It is a vibrant piece of film making and a 90s classic.