Cast: Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Seymour Cassel, Oliver Platt
Director: Adrian Lyne
Producer: Sherry Lansing
Screenplay: Amy Holden Jones
Cinematography: Howard Atherton
Music: John Barry
U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
David and Diana Murphy (Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore) are the ideal young couple. They have everything -- love, affection, companionship -- except money. Their combined meager income is just enough to keep them afloat, but when the recession hits and David loses his job, they go under. Needing fifty thousand dollars to satisfy their creditors, but possessing only five, they go to Vegas to get the rest at the tables. There they meet John Gage (Robert Redford), a billionaire businessman who throws around millions like pocket change. Gage is instantly attracted to Diana, and, in an attempt to lure her away from her husband, makes a proposal: he will give David one million dollars for one night with her.
Director Adrian Lyne, best known for bringing Fatal Attraction to the screen, is at the helm for Indecent Proposal. One of the key elements of the 1987 Glenn Close/Michael Douglas thriller -- obsession -- is also present here, albeit without the tension and violence that gave Fatal Attraction its spark. Here, a similar situation is examined from another perspective. Gage goes after Diana not with knives and threats, but with kind words, generous gifts, and moving tales of his youth.
The story is divided into three parts: the setup, the "act", and the aftermath. Despite a somewhat confused sense of time early in the film, aspects of the first part work. We get a real sense of character, and the relationship between Diana and David comes across as genuine. Once the setup is over, however, Indecent Proposal starts to fall apart, with the implausibilities and contrivances getting worse with every passing minute.
I suppose the theme is that money can't buy love, but that message gets so muddled during the second half of the film that we're not sure what to believe by the end. Indecent Proposal ends with an audible thud as screenwriter Amy Holden Jones resorts to a hard-to-believe quick fix to conclude things.
From the voice-over narration to the incessant, unnecessary commentary, everything is overexplained. Any time there could be a misinterpretation, someone will say something to clarify matters. For a movie that is supposed to be a "thinking romance", this one doesn't have a high opinion of who's supposed to be doing the thinking.
Demi Moore has a certain appeal as the beautiful woman caught between two men, and Robert Redford, no longer the sex symbol he once was, is effective the jaded, lonely billionaire striving for love -- the one thing that has eluded him for his entire life. However, while these two hold their own, Woody Harrelson has trouble once his role requires more than smiles, kisses, and tender stroking. He goes through all the motions, but the force of emotion necessary for us to empathize with David is absent.
The need to mold Indecent Proposal into a recognizable Hollywood "type" hurts its chances of saying, or being, anything meaningful. There are undercurrents of an intriguing story in Indecent Proposal, but they never reach the surface. Director Adrian Lyne may not be remaking Fatal Attraction, but the same audience-pleasing mentality is evident in this stagnant motion picture.
© 1993 James Berardinelli