15 reviews
I have seen this movie a few times now. If you are looking for decent pulp film noir in the style of the old Hardboiled ones from 40' & 50's there is not too much on offer nowadays. This movie is a decent way to spend 90mins.
The love triangle has been explored many times in many films, so there is nothing fresh in that sense. However the performances are decent from all three leads in Particular the women. Kiefer Sutherland's performance is a little below par but still OK. The sexual tension is quite prevalent and simmers throughout, and other elements are handled OK.
The only problem is that the pace does tend to drag a bit and the movie did seem to feel longer than the 90 mins. However it is still worth the rental price. 6/10
The love triangle has been explored many times in many films, so there is nothing fresh in that sense. However the performances are decent from all three leads in Particular the women. Kiefer Sutherland's performance is a little below par but still OK. The sexual tension is quite prevalent and simmers throughout, and other elements are handled OK.
The only problem is that the pace does tend to drag a bit and the movie did seem to feel longer than the 90 mins. However it is still worth the rental price. 6/10
This film has a good story that unravels at the end. Still, for a small independent film, it is intriguing, handling the mystery element well. Derien (Rebecca De Mornay) is a former vice cop now working as a private detective. Anthea (Dana Delaney) hires her to follow her husband Michael (Kiefer Sutherland) to see if he is cheating on her. After a few uneventful days of surveillance, Anthea is still not satisfied, so she adds a new dimension to the assignment. She proposes that Derien try to seduce her husband to test his fidelity. His response is predictable; the rest is not.
The story has some interesting and innovative twists, but becomes incongruous at the end. Without giving away the ending, all I can say is the director needed to do more research on forensics, because a suspect who is arrested for murder in the film would have been cleared 30 minutes after being detained in the real world.
The cast gives a solid performance. Kiefer Sutherland has played so many demented characters in his career that it is something of a shock seeing him in so normal a role. His character is no angel, but at least he isn't a sociopath. Sutherland gives a good performance but makes his character almost too nice. Rebecca De Mornay is back in shape, after a flaccid performance in `A Table for One'. This is actually the best I can remember her in quite some time. She is effective at rendering a character that is tough on the outside and tortured on the inside, with more than one weak spot in her psyche. Dana Delany is devious and duplicitous as the scheming wife.
Overall, this B movie could have been better, but it is far from bad. I rated it a 6/10. If you enjoy mysteries, it might be worth a try.
The story has some interesting and innovative twists, but becomes incongruous at the end. Without giving away the ending, all I can say is the director needed to do more research on forensics, because a suspect who is arrested for murder in the film would have been cleared 30 minutes after being detained in the real world.
The cast gives a solid performance. Kiefer Sutherland has played so many demented characters in his career that it is something of a shock seeing him in so normal a role. His character is no angel, but at least he isn't a sociopath. Sutherland gives a good performance but makes his character almost too nice. Rebecca De Mornay is back in shape, after a flaccid performance in `A Table for One'. This is actually the best I can remember her in quite some time. She is effective at rendering a character that is tough on the outside and tortured on the inside, with more than one weak spot in her psyche. Dana Delany is devious and duplicitous as the scheming wife.
Overall, this B movie could have been better, but it is far from bad. I rated it a 6/10. If you enjoy mysteries, it might be worth a try.
- FlickJunkie-2
- Apr 22, 2001
- Permalink
I was beginning to wonder about Kiefer Sutherland. Despite 17 years in the business and nearly 50 films, he's had few romantic moments on screen, particularly if you discount the coming-of-age stories he did early in his career. Thus, it was a real treat to see him in a sexy, mature romantic role in "The Right Temptation," and he was certainly up to the task.
Kiefer's talented enough that he can almost always find a way to shine, even when the material is weak, and both he and Dana Delany do so in this movie. Too bad the married couple they play (Michael and Anthea) has zero screen time together. Some well-scripted give-and-take between these two (steamy or not) could have added some interesting twists to the tale. Rebecca DeMornay (Darien), who's ostensibly the center of this piece, panted well enough during those love scenes with Michael, but either didn't have the skill to carry the lead or was hopelessly constrained by the script. Take your pick. In particular, the background story, which was supposed to give us insight into Darien's character and motivation, was simply flat. You kept wishing it would stop intruding at every turn.
The movie is only decent, but see it for the love scenes. It's always exhilarating to watch actors who can effectively convey sexual passion without having to reveal all their assets in the process.
Kiefer's talented enough that he can almost always find a way to shine, even when the material is weak, and both he and Dana Delany do so in this movie. Too bad the married couple they play (Michael and Anthea) has zero screen time together. Some well-scripted give-and-take between these two (steamy or not) could have added some interesting twists to the tale. Rebecca DeMornay (Darien), who's ostensibly the center of this piece, panted well enough during those love scenes with Michael, but either didn't have the skill to carry the lead or was hopelessly constrained by the script. Take your pick. In particular, the background story, which was supposed to give us insight into Darien's character and motivation, was simply flat. You kept wishing it would stop intruding at every turn.
The movie is only decent, but see it for the love scenes. It's always exhilarating to watch actors who can effectively convey sexual passion without having to reveal all their assets in the process.
- jdnbonneau
- Aug 20, 2000
- Permalink
I saw this movie, on cable, late at night. That, alone, should tell you something. This movie reads like pulp fiction, true. But, that's really all it is. You can tell by the title that it isn't Casablanca. It isn't Gone With the Wind. It isn't even Shawshank Redemption. It's *the right temptation*!!! The word "temptation" should tell you that it's not an oscar winner, folks. So, understanding that it is really nothing more than a romance novel bred with a crime drama...I enjoyed it (A LOT!). There is so much sexual tension in this movie, and the characters are insanely complex. I enjoyed some of the unique bits in this movie; for example, the starlets aren't 18...they actually have a few lines on their face. The lead character also has a pet pig. More than anything I wanted to stand up for Kiefer Sutherland in this movie. I became a fan of his only because of his acting in this film...it's so moving. During a very emotional part of the movie, he started welling up with tears and was so damn moving that I started CRYING (something that I do NOT do at movies...ever). He did a really good job, as did everyone in this movie. The script was cheesy and very pulpy...but if you like corny lines delivered by good actresses/actors, you'll love this movie.
- technogypsy
- Aug 4, 2002
- Permalink
A female P.I., estimated to be "The Right Temptation", is hired by a women to try to seduce her wealthy husband thereby testing his loyalty...blaa, blaa. So begins another plasticized, predictable, trite formula Hollywood clone noirish mystery with characters too shallow, patter too glib, and story too pat. There's nothing here for an audience to sink their teeth into leaving one to just sit back and zone.
- jackjack-2
- Aug 21, 2000
- Permalink
For what must have been perceived as weaknesses in other
aspects of the film that would have given it the tension and grit that
it needed, the director substituted abrupt "high schoolish" booms
and crashes as well as foul language that just seemed to be out
of place. Otherwise, it was a mostly unremarkable hour-and-a-half's entertainment.
As one other reviewer noted, it is interesting (she called it "heroic"
or something like that) the two female stars managed to bare
absolutely no skin in an "R" rated movie for reasons of "sexual
content." Maybe Ms. Delany and Ms. DeMornay had "no nudity" in
their contracts because of their maturity and the ramifications
associated with the same.
aspects of the film that would have given it the tension and grit that
it needed, the director substituted abrupt "high schoolish" booms
and crashes as well as foul language that just seemed to be out
of place. Otherwise, it was a mostly unremarkable hour-and-a-half's entertainment.
As one other reviewer noted, it is interesting (she called it "heroic"
or something like that) the two female stars managed to bare
absolutely no skin in an "R" rated movie for reasons of "sexual
content." Maybe Ms. Delany and Ms. DeMornay had "no nudity" in
their contracts because of their maturity and the ramifications
associated with the same.
This movie had the potential to be very interesting despite a poor performance by Kieffer Sutherland. The plot leave viewers in suspense until about ten minutes before it ended and then it just fizzled out. Either script writers and directors are ignorant of paraffin tests or they just ignore them. As a result the story gets forced into an unrealistic ending. The ending is hackneyed lacking any originality.
Rebecca De Mornay was a good selection for her role but her acting could have been better.
Rebecca De Mornay was a good selection for her role but her acting could have been better.
- jackjack-2
- Aug 19, 2000
- Permalink
True 50's style, hard-boiled pulp fiction with a up to date spin. I don't agree with the reviewers that mentioned the paraffin test. She opened the breach of a-just- fired-shotgun and handled the spent shell. You would have gunpowder all over you hands from doing so and thus fail a paraffin test. Maybe the movie is just a bit smarter than some of the people that right these reviews! It was a fun cable movie. and didn't need to be much more.
- dakard1050
- Jan 28, 2003
- Permalink
- Ed-Shullivan
- Oct 22, 2014
- Permalink
Don't be tempted to see this movie, unless you really have nothing better to do. The series of NYC yuppie mysteries produced much better films than this very boring and un-interesting production. The story of an attractive ex-police woman, now a PI, hired to follow a married man and getting involved with the subject of her inquiry is too expected to catch the attention. The resulting triangle cannot create the much needed sexual tension, and what should have been a series of surprises can be predicted many film minutes in advance. Conventional acting and a foggy ending do not add too much.
5/10 on my personal scale.
5/10 on my personal scale.
- Celluloid_Fiend
- Oct 15, 2019
- Permalink
Kiefer Sutherland has sunk to a new low. The plot was not new, very predictable, and the acting bad. The cinematography was jerky (Blair Witch) and there were scenes which didn't connect. This excuse for a movie should be ash canned. I found more suspense in picking my nose.
Somehow this is not a made for TV movie. But it sure feels like one. Hard to understand how it attracted such A-List talent when the story is a tepid turd. Maybe Kiefer and Rebecca had the hots for each other and took a paycheck for the privilege of French kissing in front of the cameras. Maybe once they secured the main characters, there were no coins in the coffers to afford little details like a soundtrack, wigs, locations, common sense, the lack of which can be tough on a movie. There are long stretches of movie without any music, which is jarring, making it feel like an unfinished film. Many shots take place in the same ludicrous office location, with the fake NY skyline. Huge waste of time.
- pomeu-63850
- Jan 7, 2023
- Permalink
Nicely photographed, with an interesting and appealing lead character, this film slowly draws you in as you try to follow all the plot twists, deciding who is the bad guy and who is manipulating whom. While borrowing themes from Fatal Attraction, this film owes more of its feel to film noir detective films of the 1950s. The old fashioned names of the characters add to that atmosphere. You'll be hard pressed to follow all the subtleties of The Right Temptation but you will also find that it's worth the effort to pay attention. This is a film worth watching if you're in the mood for a thriller with a few twists to its plot.
- darwark321
- Jan 21, 2003
- Permalink