David Ansen

. . . . Frears closes in on the characters. Using enormous close-ups, so that we become intimate with every treacherous mask his deceivers assume, Frears compresses the power of the pice into savage portraiture. Though it is beautifully shot by Philippe Rousselot amidst sumptuous formal settings, Frears wisely keeps the emphasis on psychology, not scenery. Doubtless his strategy was conditioned by budget limitations . . ., but he has turned necessity into inspired invention. . . .

Close is chilling, a formidable, cunning puppeteer. Malice, as "Fatal Attraction" showed, brings out the best in her. (She should be banned from playing any more warm and noble women: her patronizing sweetness in the TV movie "Stones for Ibarra" was quite indigestible.) Here, in a performance of controlled venom and deeply hidden pathos, she's superb. . . .

David Ansen
Newsweek, December 26, 1988
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