Body of Evidence (1993)

Directed by Uli Edel. Starring Willem Dafoe, Madonna, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Lillian Lehman, Jürgen Prochnow, Julianne Moore, Frank Langella, Charles Hallahan, Mark Rolston. [R]

Rebecca Carlson (Madonna) is suspected of murdering her lover, and the murder weapon is her body—she’s so vigorous in the sack, she causes weak-hearted men to die. During the trial, her lawyer (Dafoe) isn’t sure what to think about her innocence/guilt, but such doubts don’t prevent him from having a risky, tempestuous affair with his client. Sexed-up legal thriller is sort of a cross between Basic Instinct and Jagged Edge, but the credited screenwriter is Brad Mirman, not Joe Eszterhas, and it’s no improvement on the easily improvable. Tries to spice things up with kinky sex play (handcuffs, masturbation, home movies, dripping hot wax, public sex acts, etc.), but it’s too silly and awkwardly played to be titillating since we don’t believe in the combustible heat between the leads. Dafoe is too much of a normal guy (almost never the best kind of role for the actor), and Madonna’s acting is muted yet mannered throughout, even when she’s supposed to be dialing up the eroticism. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis.

34/100