The Last Seduction (1994)

A devious sexpot steals her husband's drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.

Director:

John Dahl

Writer:

Steve Barancik

Stars:

Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Linda Fiorentino	...	Bridget Gregory
Bill Pullman	...	Clay Gregory
Michael Raysses	...	Phone Sales Rep.
Zack Phifer	...	Gas Station Attendant
Peter Berg	...	Mike Swale
Brien Varady	...	Chris
Dean Norris	...	Shep
Donna W. Scott	...	Stacy (as Donna Wilson)
Mik Scriba	...	Ray
J.T. Walsh	...	Frank Griffith
Erik-Anders Nilsson	...	Beston Passerby #1
Patricia R. Caprio	...	Beston Passerby #2
Herb Mitchell	...	Bob Trotter
Bill Nunn	...	Harlan
Renee Rogers	...	Receptionist

Storyline

Bridget Gregory has a lot going for her: she's beautiful, she's intelligent, she's married to a doctor. But all of this isn't enough, as her husband Clay finds out. After she persuaded him to sell medicinal cocaine to some drugdealers, she takes off with the money, almost a million dollars, and goes undercover in a mid-American smalltown. Because Clay has to pay off a loan shark who'll otherwise damage him severely, he keeps sending detectives after her, trying to retrieve the money. When Bridget meets Mike Swale, a naive local who is blinded by her beauty and directness, she devises an elaborate, almost diabolical scheme to get rid of Clay once and for all.

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Plot Keywords:

erotic thriller | insurance fraud | seduction | stupid victim | insurance company | 

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Taglines:

She wants it all... & she wants it now...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality and language, and for violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director John Dahl initially saw this movie as more of a dark comedy than as film noir.

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Goofs

Just before Bridget sees the fuel gauge is empty, she is smoking. After cutting to the close-up of the gauge and then back to Bridget, her cigarette has disappeared.

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Quotes

Mike Swale: Grow up.
Chris: What? Did you leave your dick in Buffalo?
Mike Swale: Chris, these women are anchors.
Chris: Here he goes again.
Mike Swale: How many guys in this bar have felt her up?
Chris: All of them.
Mike Swale: Right. And how many have gone home with her, how many guys have slept with her?
Chris: None, including yourself.
Mike Swale: Right, I rest my case.
Chris: Don't rest it too long, 'cause I promise you it will fall off.

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Connections

References The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

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Soundtracks

Groove Me
Written by The ElderGreens
Performed by The ElderGreens

User Reviews

Delightfully mean!

After being goaded into stealing, and then selling pharmaceutical cocaine by his wife, Clay Gregory is aghast when she steals the money and flees to god knows where. But really this is only just the tip of the iceberg, for his wife, Bridget, has plans and motives, and nothing it seems will get in the way of her achieving her goals.

One always gets a sense of dread when reading of a modern Noir film doing the rounds, that sense that the film is obviously poor and the makers are desperately trying to sell it to the uninitiated genre seekers. Two fold worry comes when the said film is a TV movie that, until it's word of mouth got it noticed, had no theatrical release at all. Of course when said film turns out to be a clinically great movie then the joy is hard to contain, two fold! The Last Seduction is a darkly funny, cynically nasty, triumphant piece of cinema.

What is most refreshing with the piece is that it gives the movie watching world a female character of rich devilment substance, the kind we rarely see in the modern age of cinema. Here with Bridget Gregory we have not only a sexually aggressive femme fatale, but also a girl who is so wickedly intelligent it makes the men in her life seem like lobotomised amoeba's! It's quite a role that any serious actress should want to take on and conquer. As it was, the gig went to the (then) largely unknown Linda Fiorentino, who positively grasps the opportunity with both her hands and teeth to create one of the 90s most unheralded female performances. Backed up by the astute casting of Bill Pullman and Peter Berg as the differing hapless men in her life, the result is close to being TV movie gold.

Technically the film obviously pings with a TV movie production value, but this is off set by the excellent photography from Jeff Jur, smoky bars captured in the truest feel of a noirish dream about to become a whole heap of trouble and strife. Great score from Joseph Vitarelli that perfectly fuses jazz beats with the pulse beat of the story, the story that is so very well written by Steve Barancik, and it's here outside of Fiorentino's performance where the success of the film can be found. The plot twists and turns like a worm trying to negotiate its way out of some noir labyrinth, with dashes of crackling dialogue helping to keep the journey a compulsory viewing, and then the end caps it off and you will not know if you should laugh or be shocked? Chances are you will be doing both.

Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but one of the best TV movie's ever? Hell yes, immense fun to be had with this one. 8/10

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buffalo Girls

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,058, 30 October 1994

Gross USA:

$5,842,603

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,842,603

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 129 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1