The Rich Man's Wife (1996)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Amy Holden Jones

Writer (WGA):

Amy Holden Jones (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

The price of wealth just went up.

Plot:

A rich man's wife finds she has a bad prenuptial agreement with an even worse husband. Over drinks with a stranger...

Plot Keywords:

Husband Wife Relationship | Beautiful Woman | Happy Birthday To You

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Josie Potenza
Peter Greene	...	Cole Wilson
Clive Owen	...	Jake Golden
Frankie Faison	...	Detective Ron Lewis
Charles Hallahan	...	Detective Dan Fredricks
Allan Rich	...	Bill Adolphe
Clea Lewis	...	Nora Golden
Christopher McDonald	...	Tony Potenza
Loyda Ramos	...	Grace
William Crossett	...	Cab Driver
Eddie Francis	...	Bartender
Lou DiMaggio	...	Party Guest
Alexandra Hedison	...	Party Guest
John Paragon	...	Maitre D'
Marc Shelton	...	Instateller Man

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Caravan Pictures

Trivia:

Spoiler: According to Cinematographer Haskell Wexler, after the test screening the ending was changed as "the bad guy at the end didn't die badly enough. As it was, Halle Berry shot the guy, bang, he died. When we redid the scene, she shot him, kicked him in the nuts, struck him with a hatchet so he fell back, shattering a car windscreen before hitting the ground, where we stabbed him with a high heel..."

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Josie and Cole are struggling in the tunnel at the park, Cole wrestles away Josie's revolver and fires it 3 times at some would-be rescuers. Josie gets away and runs to the end of the tunnel. Cole fires the gun at her another 7 times. A total of 10 shots from a revolver holding 6 bullets.

Soundtrack:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Really Not A Bad Movie

I started watching The Rich Man's Wife, even though the title alone would suggest a crappy, soap-ish kind of movie. But I was pleasantly surprised with this murder mystery, although in flashbacks we see that there's not much of a mystery as to who was killing who.

What I liked was the way Halley Berry's character's handled herself in such a strong, almost "Ripley" like way; not some simpering, whimpering victim. She shoots the "bad guy" with a precision that professional marksmen would envy. It's a good movie, right up to the ending, then along comes that final twist-- the one plot twist too many-- that shot the whole movie to hell for me. Had the last five minutes not happened, for it me it would have been almost perfect movie, so I give this movie 5/10.