China Moon - Luna di sangue

Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe are underneath the temperamental "China Moon" in this 1994 film also starring Benicio del Toro.

Harris and del Toro are Kyle Bodine and Lamar Dickey partner detectives with a Florida police department. One night at a bar, Kyle meets Rachel Munro (Stowe) and falls for her immediately. She's unhappily married and has photos of her husband (Charles Dance) with another woman.

Kyle doesn't know this at the time, and tracks her down. They start seeing one another. When her husband winds up dead, Kyle helps her to cover it up.

Though the plot is derivative, this is a classily done film with terrific acting, sensual love scenes between the two leads, an easy pace and beautiful photography. It reminded me a little of "Body Heat." The plot won't be hard to figure out, but be prepared for a couple of twists.

Ed Harris gives a forceful performance as Kyle, and del Toro is understated as Lamar. When the camera rests on Stowe, she's flawlessly beautiful, and what clothes! She gives an effective performance and has a nice chemistry with Harris.

"China Moon" is a small, meticulously done movie with loads of talent behind it. The story has been told many times, but somehow, if it's done well, it's always good for another encore.

China Moon was unexpectedly good. Whodunits usually aren't my favorites, but this one held my interest. The story has enough going for it to make for a solid mystery. Even though you know who killed whom, you're left second-guessing yourself as to motives and alliances until the very end.

There are enough twists and turns to keep you off-balance, but without the story confusion that often accompanies that kind of plot complexity. A surprise final scene provides a satisfying closure. The murder and resulting forensics are on the bloody side, but it's not out of place in the story line. Harris and Stowe turn in believable performances, making for an overall rating of 7 out of 10 stars.

41. CHINA MOON (thriller, 1994) Homicide Det. Bodine (Ed Harris) is a veteran of the force who knows the ins and outs of every crime scene. He meets Rachel (Madeline Stowe), a beautiful woman whose sensual charms he falls under. They begin a steamy relationship. But then he finds out she's married to an abusive and powerful man. Sensing her infidelity he confronts her, and in an act of self-defense she kills him. She seeks Bodines' help. But will he bring her to justice or help the woman he loves?

Critique: Nifty little thriller borrows from the film-noir tradition. The solid screenplay by Roy Karlson introduces many elements of the genre. There's the honest cop who falls for the habitual 'femme-fetal', and the violent husband as 'middle-man' who ends up dead. But just when you think things are headed into conventional plotting, there's a twist.

Good direction by first-timer John Bailey elicits excellent acting all around. Ed Harris gives another powerhouse performance, Madeline Stowe plays the would-be 'femme fatale' role beautifully, as well as an array of solid supporting actors including Benicio del Toro (who reminded me of James Dean in his younger days). Great ending too.

QUOTE: Kyle: "You were just fV@*!ng me weren't you?! I was loving you and you were fV#!ing me!"

John Bailey probably knew what he was getting into, when he read Roy Carlson's screen play, otherwise it doesn't make much sense to go ahead with a film that has been done better before. That said, "China Moon" is not a total disappointment.

If you haven't seen the movie, please stop reading here.

There are a few things that indicate that Rachel wanted to use Kyle from the beginning. There are also hints that Lamar, Kyle's detective partner, is into something. How could a good detective like Kyle fall prey to the exchange of the the bullet that is extracted from Rupert Monro's body? The filmmakers take a chance in presenting a half baked pie to the viewers, many of whom are into mysteries, and think the plot will be taken at face value, when in reality, our minds are going in different directions. The fans of this genre solve the puzzle before the movie's conclusion.

That said, the movie is easy to watch. Ed Harris, makes a credible Kyle. This actor is one of the best working in movies today, and even if it's not a good picture, Mr. Harris can be counted to give an excellent performance. His detective offers a good character study of a professional man that makes a fatal judgment when he gets involved with Rachel.

Madeleine Stowe is a beautiful woman. In this movie she plays Rachel with conviction; her scenes with Ed Harris shows clearly she can hold her own against anyone. Benicio Del Toro's Lamar, as Lamar, offers an interesting performance, something we expect from him as a matter of course. Charles Dance, as the rich husband who likes to fool around, is only seen too short.

This is a movie to watch when the weather is bad outside. It will please anyone who doesn't expect too much.

When homicide detective Kyle Brodine starts seeing the wife of businessman Rupert Monro he finds himself falling in love with her. When her relationship gets violent with her husband he begs her to leave him, however she doesn't but when she accidentally kills him with an illegal gun she turns to him for help. Unable to go to the police he helps her cover it up. However later the police suspect foul play and Kyle and his partner are put on the case. As they investigate more evidence begins to point to Kyle and it appears that Rachel has not been totally honest with him.

Proof that good noir still exists. This film never saw the inside of an UK cinema – it went straight to video on release. However the plot is a good tangled web of murder, mystery and deceit. It manages to be twisty despite the fact that this sort of thing has been done many times before. The plot unfolds late and very quickly, managing to be believable and gripping.

The main reason for this is a great performance from Ed Harris. The feeling of him being sucking into something is written all over his face – and the way he goes from cop in control of all the details into a hunted animal is really good. Stowe is also really good and the support cast also has quality – whether it be Charles Dance or a young looking Del Toro.

Overall this may not break box office records but as a thriller it is twisty, contains plenty of good lines and has a great lead performance from Harris.