Crímenes de pasión

Weird movie with Turner as a faux-hooker living out her fantasies and Perkins as a faux-preacher wanting to save/prey on her. Wild performances, witty script, and in spite of a little moralizing about being honest with yourself it's just silly fun.

A sportswear designer leads a double life as a hooker named China Blue (Kathleen Turner). One of her clients, a man on the verge of divorce, decides he loves her and figures out who she is. He then begins wooing her, which she fights against since he was a client. Meanwhile a street preacher (Anthony Perkins) works the red light district trying to save souls.

Allegedly, the male lead passed over Patrick Swayze and Jeff Bridges before landing on John Laughlin. Not that Laughlin does a bad job, but in retrospect this seems like an odd choice -- the movie would have had a more lasting impact with one of the other two.

Although Kathleen Turner takes up most of the screen time, and really puts herself out there in these sexual situations, Perkins is the highlight of the film. He never shies away from pushing his own emotions, saying and acting in the most manic of manners. For an actor who made his name working with Hitchcock, he was never afraid to push the envelope in his career. Allegedly, the "poppers" we see him using on screen were real and he was indeed pumped up for much of the shoot.

One aspect of the film that Ken Russell ought to be praised for is how strongly he suggests certain things but never shows them. For a film about American sexuality, there is surprisingly little nudity. Instead, he uses Japanese art to double for this, and presents an endless stream of suggestive -- but rarely explicit -- scenes. This is brilliant, and keeps the movie from becoming smut, despite its themes. Likewise, the violence is almost all psychological -- even a murder scene somewhat humorously uses a doll to avoid showing direct, human physical interaction.

Russell and cinematographer Dick Bush do an excellent job of projecting character on to the actors through lighting. We have garish colors and neon lights for the scenes with China Blue, while the other scenes were more naturalistic light. There are clearly two worlds at play, and Kathleen Turner seamlessly goes from one to the other.

On top of a beautiful 2K restoration, and the ability to watch either the cut or uncut version, the Arrow Video blu-ray comes packed with features. We have audio commentary with director Ken Russell and producer-screenwriter Barry Sandler, seven deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary by Sandler, a brand-new interview with Sandler, and a brand-new interview with composer Rick Wakeman. This is a must-own for any fan of Russell, Turner or especially Perkins.

The prostitute China Blue is the mask that professional designer, Joanna Crane wears by night. Crane hides behind her alter-ego to live in a grimy and seedy fantasy world to escape her reality. Pastor Shayne is Peter Shayne's view into the world of China Blue and her co-workers. The relationship between China and the Pastor is the focus of this bizarre neon-lit fable of salvation, and deciding who is the one in need of saving is complicated. In-between this twisted relationship, in steps Bobby Grady. Grady is hired to follow Crane to see if she's selling her employers secrets to the competition - Grady finds out that Crane's double life is way more complicated than selling secrets...she's collecting them. Grady, whose stale, lifeless suburban marriage is failing, falls for his mark. This evolves into a bizarre ménage a trois with China chasing a fantasy, Shayne and Grady chasing China. What ensues is Crane becoming unmasked and realising that the life she's chosen is not so easy when you have nothing to hide behind.

If all this sounds complicated, or even messy, it's because it is. Russell's visual-audio fantasy is turned up to eleven as Turner and Perkins act out their character's fantasies. And the casting of both really does fit Russell's style, with Perkins undeniably commanding your attention during his scenes. There's a depth in his portrayal of this tortured faux-preacher that keeps your gaze locked on him throughout. However, Turner is as alluring and committed as usual and doesn't suffer from Perkins' chewing the scenery...actually, she chews as much of it as he does. But they never cancel each other out, merely powerfully co-exist. Then there's John Laughlin as Grady, and Annie Potts as his estranged wife. They both do what's needed, with both coming across as naive, when compared to the experienced deviant characters of Blue and Shayne. Grady's man-child naivety helps remove China's mask from Joanna.

The film, however, has obviously been chopped by the powers that be. Russell's narrative is splintered, a little too much at times. And although the 'masks we wear' message is effective, some of the plot points to highlight them are a little disjointed. Saying that, though, Perkins and Turner are mesmerising and they really keep the film entertaining.

It's no surprise that Ken Russell's ambitious psychosexual drama "Crimes of Passion" was not well received upon its initial release back in 1984. But to be fair, based on the heavy edits required to achieve an 'R' rating, it's hard to imagine the film having the same sort of effect as the un-rated director's cut. Explicitness is key to a film of this nature -- necessary for provoking audience reaction, but also for providing a raw layer of intensity to which the viewer can connect with. For example, the explicit dialogue in the bedroom confessional scene between Bobby & Amy Grady (equally fine performances from John Laughlin and Annie Potts) effectively captures the real disconnect present within so many relationships. On one hand there's a need and/or desire for sex as a means of fulfillment and expression of love, but on the other hand there are responsibilities associated with family life that may impede that desire, or in the case of the character of Amy Grady, a general lack of sexual desire is just part of her persona. Meanwhile this leaves her husband Bobby feeling discontented. The film asks then, just how important is sex? Is it an essential part of being happy? In stark contrast to the dynamic between Bobby & Amy Grady, is the character of China Blue/Joanna Crane -- played with absolute gusto by Kathleen Turner (giving one of the finest performances of her career). While her motives remain for the most part unclear, the character of China Blue appears to be using sex as a control mechanism. But what is it that she is trying to control? Through the use of some fairly explicit sex scenes it seems apparent that she enjoys the sex itself while also enjoying the anonymity and emotional disconnect involved with being a girl for hire. But is this feeling the result of her actual disdain for having that emotional connection, or is it a result of having been scarred by a past relationship? The power play argument is reinforced by seeing the Joanna Crane side of the character -- a highly successful undergarment designer with a cool car and a great apartment; someone who seems to have it all, yet wants to take her power one step further. This theory is drawn into question (of course!) when her path crosses with Bobby Grady; someone who seems to be able to offer her the entire package she secretly longs for. To complicate things further, there's the character of Rev. Peter Shayne (an Oscar worthy performance from Anthony Perkins); a man so distraught and shamed by his own inner demons that he seeks his own redemption through the course of offering to redeem China Blue. Throw in an enjoyably hypnotic yet cheesy & dated synthesizer score, and the usual striking visual imagery and religious allegory that Ken Russell is well known for, and the result is a thought provoking and highly entertaining film. Best recommended to those who don't mind being left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end, or who aren't easily offended – an 8/10, this film is destined to become a major classic and deserves repeated viewings.

"Crimes of Passion" is an erotic-thriller classic. A smart script about three lifes and their problems and dreams, every scene is erotic or suspenseful, the performances are great, the music score is wonderful and the cinematography is a totally masterpiece. Before than the romantic comedy "Pretty Woman" or many famous erotic thrillers there was "Crimes of Passion".