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How sad is this?

As Good As It Gets

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Brain DePalma channels Alfred Hitchcock and delivers a thriller about sexual repression and murder.Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is a sexually frustrated housewife who is in therapy with New York City psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott (Michael Caine). During an appointment, Kate attempts to seduce him, but Elliott rejects her advances.The rejection sends Kate into a tailspin in which puts the viewer on journey of darkest part of the human experience. Not a great film but worth watching but its RATED R for a reason

What do you get when you combine Alfred Hitchcock and a thriller suspense story from the 1980's? Well, you would get 1980's thriller Dressed to Kill. From the beginning, you can tell that director Brian De Palma was trying to emulate Alfred Hitchcock's films of old. Many young filmmakers at the time tried to make films with a Hitchcock influence, but many of them failed. However, Dressed to Kill mostly succeeded in creating a "Hitchcock" film. According to famed critic Roger Ebert, "He (De Palma) places his emphasis on the same things that obsessed Hitchcock: precise camera movements, meticulously selected visual movements, characters seen as types rather than personalities, and violence as a sudden interruption of the most mundane situations." While the movie may not be peak Hitchcock, we get have an entertaining thriller that is violent, engaging, and surprisingly effective.My first thought of the movie was that it is a strangely erotic movie. In all honesty, it is really a softcore porn movie, at least that is what it felt like to me. It is a movie that pushes sex up to the top and then some. It does star some respectable Hollywood actors and a well-loved director, so at least the names give the movie legitimacy. Let me tell you why I believed this film was a porno at first. Just listen to the plot. There is this middle-aged woman named Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) who is frustrated with her sexual life. She goes to a therapist named Dr. Robert Elliot (Michael Caine) to help her through her crisis. After a session with the therapist, she randomly meets this guy at a museum and they have sex. After she finds out he has a STD, she leaves hastily. The problem is that she forgets her wedding ring. As she goes back to retrieve her ring, she is brutally murdered with a razor. Now there are all sorts of problems as everyone tries to track down the killer.I thought the performances were solid ones. The big name here is Michael Caine. He does wonderful in all his films, and there is no difference here. His character is very charismatic, but there is a hint of darkness hidden behind the charisma, and that interested me because I am used to Michael Caine playing a beloved, helpful good guy. Angie Dickinson gave a solid performance as the sexually-deprived housewife. I am still on the fence about Nancy Allen's performance. She played a high-class prostitute named Liz Blake and was named the only suspect for the murder. Her performance went over-the-top at times, a little more than I was comfortable with. It's funny because she was nominated both for a Golden Globe and a Razzie for her performance.One important thing to note about the movie is that it is not pushed forward narratively. De Palma and writer George Litto made this film more of a stylistic one. Also, certain themes we look at today were looked at differently thirty-seven years ago. The movie has a strange way in using transsexuality and schizophrenia to build the case for the homicidal maniac seen killing people in the movie. There are plot issues at hand, but plot is not the strongest suit of the film. It is all about the shocker value that is effectively delivered.Dressed to Kill is an interesting movie to say the least. It's an erotic thriller that follows the footsteps of earlier Hitchcock movies. But one thing to note is that it is not a Hitchcock film, but De Palma comes very close in recreating one. The film is suspenseful, thrilling, and there are what seems to be an indefinite amount of twists and turns. If anything, you get to see Michael Caine deliver a performance outside of his wheelhouse.My Grade: B

Dressed to Kill is written and directed by Brian de Palma. This film is essentially a hybrid between an American erotic thriller and a Italian Giallo. It features all the hallmarks of both genres of that time, a crazed slasher, sultry female leads, and buckets of blood, the only thing missing from this films is a synth score by Goblin or Tangerine Dream. This film has a far better structure then most Giallos. Even if this comes at the cost of not being surprised by who the killer is.Brian de Palma brings an extra level of finesse to this film. It's a more mature take on the Giallo genre, without it ever skimping out on De Palma's usual motifs. The shot compositions and his excellent camera movements are as good as any in his filmography.The film stars Nancy Allen as Liz Blake a high-class call girl, that witnesses a murder, and soon finds herself in the killers cross-hairs. Allen gives an alluring performance as the seductive Liz Blake. Even though her acting chops begin to stifle in any scene that requires any range or emotional weight. Though at times she's given some truly horrendous lines, that even George Lucas would cringe at.The film also stars Michael Caine as therapist Dr. Robert Elliott. After the murders begin he starts to receive messages on his answering machine, from one of his former patients, giving accurate accounts of the murder whilst claiming to be the killer. He begins to fall deeper into trouble, as he tries to reach out and help his former patient. He goes off on his his own Investigation, without the help of Police Detective. Marino who's played with typical gusto by Dennis Franz. The cast is rounded out with good performances from Angie Dickinson as Kate Miller a patient of Elliott's and Keith Gordon who plays her son.Dressed to Kill does have some issues, the dialogue at times can be rough on the ear, and the overall mystery is fairly simplistic, which leads to a slight lack of tension. Despite this, Dressed to Kill is an Incredibly fun and engaging film. It's masterfully shot, and is one of the best hybrid Giallos Iv'e seen.

Brian De Palma is one of my favourite directors. I like him since i saw Mission:Impossible as a little child (even though i didn't knew it was by him). I'm also a big Hitchcock-Fan, and so is De Palma obviously, because most of his greatest films are inspired by him, and this one is most notably no exception. It's a slightly different, more sleazy and sexually charged version of "Psycho" to say it simple. And in my opinion it's as good.The camera-work is marvellous, one of the best sequences in the movie is in a museum, where they cut between two long-takes. Then there is a split-screen sequence which grabs your attention, and let's you, the viewer, decide which one of the parallel stories is more interesting to you. And much, much more. There is rarely a movie where i had to smile as much as in this one, just because of the technical aspects and the incredible sense of suspense.Also the actors are all splendid, very natural, and fitting for their roles.The soundtrack is great, and it has to be, because most of the scenes work out without a single word of dialogue (visual storytelling at it's best).I could talk about every scene in this movie for hours, but to put it simple (again) this movie is a masterpiece of suspense, worthy of being called "hitchcokian" and one of De Palmas finest...