"A Perfect Murder" is an admirable attempt to remake Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder", an excellent, but often overlooked work. Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen all produce solid performances; this film is limited by its plot. The screenwriters were faced with the unenviable task of attempting to improve an immensely clever and complex script. "Dial M" deserves credit as a great thriller because of the layers in the plot, which require the viewer to think. These layers in the Hitchcock version are absent in Andrew Davis' version. Davis adds a new twist of his own, but it is not enough to make up for the missing elements of the original story. Finally, John Williams steals the show in "Dial M" with his outstanding performance as the inspector. David Suchet, whose portrayal of Hercule Poirot in the Agatha Christie film series models Williams' inspector, is given no such opportunity to shine in this film. All in all, "A Perfect Murder" is a decent film, but does not fall anywhere near the original.
Review of A Perfect Murder
