A powerful husband. An unfaithful wife. A jealous lover. All of them have a motive. Each of them has a plan.|Jun. 05, 1998|United States|107 Min.|R
Genre: Crime;Drama;Thriller
Description: Steven Taylor, a Wall Street financier, is married to Emily, a much younger UN translator. Facing financial ruin due to failed investments, Steven plans to use Emily’s $100 million fortune to cover his losses. Meanwhile, Emily is involved in an affair with artist David Shaw and contemplates leaving Steven. During a gala, Steven meets David and arranges to visit his Brooklyn studio.
The next day, Steven confronts David at his studio, revealing he knows about the affair and has uncovered David’s criminal past as a con artist targeting wealthy women. Steven offers David $500,000 to murder Emily, threatening him with a 15-year prison sentence if he refuses.
Steven hides the key to their Manhattan apartment outside the service entrance, instructing David to use it for the murder and stage it as a robbery. While playing cards, Steven creates an alibi by making a call to his bank, simultaneously calling Emily using another phone. Emily, answering in the kitchen, is attacked by a masked intruder but manages to stab him with a meat thermometer.
Returning home, Steven expects to find Emily dead but discovers the assailant’s body instead. He retrieves the key and places it back on Emily’s keychain. When police arrive, Detective Karaman notices Steven’s surprise upon realizing the intruder isn’t David. Watching from outside, David mistakenly believes Emily has been killed.
Steven takes Emily to her mother’s house for safety. Emotionally distraught, David receives a call from Emily, who assures him she is unharmed. Steven later arranges a meeting with David on a ferry. Meanwhile, Emily confides in her coworker Raquel about her decision to leave Steven.
Cast director: Andrew Davis
Cast actor: Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, David Suchet, Sarita Choudhury, Constance Towers, Will Lyman, Maeve McGuire, Michael P. Moran, Novella Nelson
Original name: A Perfect Murder