Anyway, what to say about Dressed to Kill? Oh, I know: holy batshit insane! I enjoyed this Psycho homage right up until the point at which the plot did an about-face, much like its inspiration. Then, man... then shit got weird and really, really awful.
I'm gonna copy and paste from the Wikipedia plot synopsis and add my own editorial notes where I feel necessary. I've diligently avoided doing this for the prior blog entries as I feel this should be wholly MY review of the film. But I'm playing a little catch-up and besides, most of you probably just read this for my comments and not for the synopsis anyway. Here goes:
Kate (Angie Dickinson) is a sexually frustrated aging housewife (and MILF) in therapy with psychiatrist Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine). During an appointment, Kate attempts to seduce him, but Elliott rejects her advances. Kate goes to the Metropolitan Museum to meet her mother, but instead has an unexpected flirtation with a mysterious stranger. Kate and the stranger "stalk" each other through the museum until they finally wind up outside, where Kate joins him in a taxi. They immediately begin to have sex in the cab, and continue at his apartment. Hours later, Kate awakens and decides to discreetly leave while the man is asleep. Kate leaves the apartment but on the way out realizes that she has left her wedding ring on the stranger's nightstand, and she returns to retrieve it. The elevator doors open on the figure of a tall, blonde woman in dark sunglasses wielding a straight razor. Kate is slashed to death in the elevator. (and now the Psycho plot change). A high-priced call girl, Liz (crazy hot Nancy Allen), happens upon the body and catches a glimpse of the killer, therefore becoming both the prime suspect and the killer's next target. Elliott receives a bizarre answering machine message from "Bobbi", a transgendered person he is treating. Bobbi taunts the psychiatrist for breaking off their therapy sessions, apparently because Elliott refuses to sign the necessary papers for Bobbi to get a sex change operation. Elliott, discovering that his straight razor is missing (and thereby giving the jaded modern audience all the proof it needs to confirm what we already suspect), visits Bobbi's new doctor and tries to convince him that Bobbi is a danger to herself and others. The police, notably represented by Dennis Franz in full moustache awesomeness, are less than willing to believe Liz's story, so she joins forces with Kate's revenge-minded son Peter (Christine's Keith Gordon) to find the killer. Peter is an inventor, and uses a series of homemade listening devices and time-lapse cameras to track patients from Elliott's office. They catch Bobbi on camera, and soon Liz is being stalked by a tall blonde figure in sunglasses. Several attempts are made on Liz's life. One, in the subway, is thwarted by Peter, who sprays Bobbi with homemade mace. Liz and Peter scheme to get inside Elliott's office to look at his appointment book and learn Bobbi's real name. Liz baits the therapist by stripping to lingerie and coming on to him, distracting him long enough to make a brief exit and leaf through his appointment book. When she returns, it is Bobbi rather than Dr. Elliott who confronts her; they are the same person (shocking NOBODY). Elliott/Bobbi is shot and wounded by a female police officer who looks like Bobbi: she is the tall blonde figure who was trailing Liz under orders from Dennis Franz's moustache. Elliott is arrested by the police and placed in an insane asylum. It is explained by a psychiatrist that Elliott wanted to be a woman, but his "male" side would not allow him to go through with the operation. Whenever a woman sexually aroused Elliott, it was "Bobbi", who represented the female side of the doctor's personality, who became threatened. In a final sequence, Elliott escapes from the asylum and slashes Liz's throat in a bloody act of vengeance. She wakes up screaming, realizing that it was just a dream as Peter runs to her bed to comfort her.
Like Psycho, we have here a narrative that gives us an incredibly compelling (and sexy) female protagonist (so we think) whose murder (sorry if you haven't seen Psycho, but... well... seriously?) throws us off as we enter Act II. De Palma, as much as he might sometimes wish it were so, is no Hitchcock. Or rather, De Palma's writers are no Hitchcock's writers. While there's much to admire in Dressed to Kill, there's a lot more to deride. But lest you think I'm just a Debbie Downer here, I'll talk about the good.
First, as a young man whose primary visual association with Nancy Allen is Robocop, let me just say this: wow, Nancy Allen. You were freaking HOT. I'm sorry I mostly missed your risque work because... hommina hommina woog woog (tongue falls out of mouth and eyes rocket out of their sockets a la animated wolf). In fact, I found it kind of hilarious that the Keith Gordon character wasn't ogling her in every scene. I know if I saved hooker Nancy Allen from a lunatic, I'd be cashing in the favor ASAP. But I digress... Actually, I thought Angie Dickinson was pretty damn hot herself. And she did a fantastic job of getting across that sense of a formerly desired woman who finds herself a little older but still possessed of a powerful libido. She also shared a scene with Keith Gordon as her son that felt particularly real. There was a dynamic going on in that scene that felt true to me as a son. It reminded me of that time in my life when I was trying to move out on my own and leave the nest behind. There's often a dual sadness and pride on hand when mothers let their sons go. Any child, really, but I know I personally experienced this with my own mother. It's very much a shame when the narrative takes the turn it does because I was awfully invested in Kate. I think De Palma missed the point of the Janet Leigh death in Psycho because in Norman Hitchcock had a fiendishly watchable anti-hero/villain. Not so much Dr. Elliott. Anyway, Dickinson is in top form in this film.
Speaking of which, the best sequence in this film, and the only sequence that I think justifies this as a film to study, happens when Dickinson is stalking the guy in the museum. This sequence is 10-15 minutes long and completely without dialogue. NONE. Everything going on in this sequence is non-verbal and Dickinson just absolutely steals the movie here. It's clever and sexy and mysterious and... man, that is some great filmmaking right there. The range of emotions and reactions from Dickinson and the guy playing the object of her lust is impressively vast, the patience of the long takes and push-ins is effortless, the blocking is like watching modern dance. Frankly this sequence belongs in a MUCH better movie. Giving this scene to the Kate character is a big mistake on De Palma's part, since poor Liz and Peter are given nothing remotely this interesting to do in the rest of the film.
So why didn't I like this? First of all, if you don't realize that (gasp!) Dr. Elliott is the killer in question, then you have never seen a thriller. You especially aren't under the age of 60. The last movie that even remotely shocked the audience in its revelation of the villain's identity was Fight Club, and even then the shock had more to do with practical questions like Who was he punching in the parking lot? than anything story-related. (If you haven't seen Fight Club, again, seriously?)
Second, we really feel downgraded when the story kills off Kate in favor of the constantly-pouting proto-nerd Peter (Keith Gordon always looks like he just smelled a fart) and the beautiful but rather blank Liz. It's not Nancy Allen's fault. Liz just isn't given much to work with, character-wise. That she stumbled across a murder is unfortunate and we sorta sympathize with her. But compared to the passionate but ignored Kate, whose chutzpah in stalking this total stranger delights us, Liz is blah. I wasn't entirely joking, either, when I said that Peter's lack of sexual interest in Liz threw me off. I thought for sure that Peter would clumsily attempt to seduce Liz (or vice versa for some REAL tension!) but mostly Peter sat around looking like Man, I swear someone just farted. I get that the kid is grieving for his mother and he wants revenge, but... c'mon. Nancy Allen nearly nude? The alliteration of that sentence alone gives me a boner.
Inappropriate?
The less said about Michael Caine's ridiculous performance the better. He's a solid actor and he did the best he could, I suspect, but it's like De Palma told him, "You've got this terrible secret hidden inside you, so repress EVERYTHING. Every human emotion, repress it." Hey, maybe it was Dr. Elliott who farted. He certainly looked like he was holding back a rat-cracker the whole time. (Incidentally, the term "cracked a rat" is one of my favorite expressions for a fart/poo). See? See what my review devolves into when you make me watch movies like Dressed to Kill?
Holy lord, and how about that denoument? The tail end of the third act, which turns out to be a dream sequence? Okay, it IS a dream sequence, so I guess the balls-out goofiness can be forgiven a little. But until we realize that, this is one of the worst things you will ever watch a talented actor like Michael Caine put himself through. It's gibbering insanity, and not because the scene takes place in an asylum. No, it's the worst kind of over-the-top scene, chock full of childish symbolism (get it? sexy nurse! it's like a fetish!) and terrible pacing (why does the dream killer just stand around for five minutes?). And in the end, even when we realize it's a dream, what f'ing PURPOSE DOES IT SERVE??? All it really shows us is that Liz is likely now traumatized by her experience. Well.... duh! If you witnessed some woman's dying moments at the hands of a lunatic with a straight razor, then that lunatic tried to kill YOU, you'd be pretty traumatized. Of course. No shit. Thanks for the clue, Sherlock.
Per usual, here are some mid-movie thoughts:
- Dennis Franz? Uh oh, do I have to see his butt?
- Wow, fantastic opening shot, tells us everything we need to know about Kate.
- That's the kid from Christine, right? Yeah, yes it is. Cool.
- Wow, Dickinson is killing it. Her face is just fantastic. It's a study in non-verbal acting.
- hahaha... so much tension and it's just a woman looking for her glove.
- Ooh, who picked up her other glove? Mysterious...
- Women's clothes are f'n complicated.
- Not fond of the "memory in frame next to character's head as footage from prior scene". It calls attention to itself and the movie. She couldn't have had that perspective.
- hahaha... the little girl is a creep.
- What the FUCK???? This is some Psycho shit! I thought for sure Angie Dickinson was the protag!
- If Caine isn't the killer I'll be dipped in shit.
- hahahah... holy shit, Franz hasn't changed at all! He just swelled.
- I dig the nerd son Peter horning into the interrogation.
- Damn, nice framing. De Palma is def a student of Hitch.
- Is Peter doing a Numb3rs thing?
- I don't like split-screen. Nope. Not at all. It can be useful and this is visually interesting, but it's also hugely distracting.
- hahaha... nice job, dick taxi guy.
- I'd read that Nancy Allen did quite a bit of risque work, but never paid it much attention because of Robocop. Well, I may check out her other stuff now. Cuz she's crazy hot here.
- That subway defense scene was a little awkward.
- The Nerd and the Hooker, this season on CBS!
- Jesus, look at the 'stache on Franz.
- How is this kid not trying to get laid by Allen every second?
- Caine is good at acting "off".
- Damn, Nancy Allen. That body... woof...
- Right now, Caine is going to change into the Bobbi outfit. An admirable effort at misdirection, but I'm too familiar with film twists.
- What's the point of this wrap-up?
- What the fuck is this? Why are we still with Liz and Peter?
- This whole Liz and Peter "hanging together" thing is weird. She's acting like they spent the whole movie together when they only had a few scenes.
- What is this Michael Caine murdering the nurse scene? So freaking bizarre. (later) Was it part of Liz's nightmare or did he really murder someone and escape?
Did the movie live up to the theme? Yep. Elliott was a cross-dresser. And his desire to be female is what caused Kate to get slashed and Liz chased. When I was cutting and pasting the synopsis I noticed that De Palma got yelled at by transgender activists for promoting a negative idea of the community. Come on, people, this movie promotes a negative idea of storytelling. Dr. Elliott isn't a bad trans, he's a bad character, period. If anyone thought that this was an accurate representation of anything at all they should be locked up in an asylum with... well, with cross-dressing murderer Michael Caine.
In the end, I can't really recommend this movie to people. I watched it on Netflix streaming, so it might be worth satisfying your curiosity if you like the occasional bad movie. Actually, I recommend that people watch the first act, right up until Kate bites it. The rest isn't really worth your time. Well, okay, maybe you can scan to the scene in Elliott's office when Nancy Allen is trying to seduce him. That's a good scene for lascivious reasons. Otherwise, skip this stinker and watch De Palma's equally batshit insane, but far superior, Raising Cain.
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