The Last Seduction


The rules of film-noir: dark shadows and lighting, a hero who gets drawn into the murky world of crime and sex, usually led by a femme fatale who always gets punished in the end. There really are no set rules of film-noir but the things I mentioned are a general staple. What makes The Last Seduction so great? Well, besides the fabulous writing, crackling dialogue and utter heat of Linda Fiorentino's Oscar-caliber performance? It breaks one of the major rules. And surprisingly enough, this is one ending I don't want to ruin, so I'm not gonna tell you which one it is. Released in 1994, The Last Seduction was first shown on Showtime, and then hit the theaters. Unfortunately, because of that one viewing on cable, The Last Seduction was ineligable for Oscar consideration, despite the big push for Linda Fiorentino. I don't exactly recall the other nominees that year, but if I recall correctly, they were rather weak and Fiorentino's performance was at the very LEAST as good as any other that year. In truth, she was brilliant as a ballsy, determined, manipulative femme fatale who equally enjoys verbally lashing anyone who happens to be around and a good hard fuck. She is a woman who makes her man feel like a piece of meat. How fabulous is that? Bill Pullman is also very good in a role that's unusual for him. With the exception of his role in Zero Effect (which was another breakthrough performance for him and an excellent film which may be another Piccalo's Perfect Pick before long), Pullman usually plays the nice guy. The nice dopey guy. Not here. He's got an edge here and it works for him. Peter Berg is also quite good as Fiorentino's piece of meat. The Last Seduction is fun because it's smart. There's a shortage of smart films made these days. Smart films that play to smart audiences. You can't help but admire The Last Seduction for its balls. A final fun fact - the man who wrote the film, Steve Barancik, came to speak at one of Piccalo's college film classes back before Piccalo graduated. He was an interesting guy but the funniest thing he told us was that the original title of the film was not The Last Seduction, but Buffalo Girls. It makes sense if you've seen the film. The studio made him change the title though, because that dreadful mini-series with Angelica Huston and Melanie Griffith called Buffalo Girls was coming out around the same time. So they chose The Last Seduction. Barancik said he didn't even know what the fuck it meant. Heh. That makes two of us. Now stop reading and go rent this movie, butt wrenches.