Death Becomes Her Film Review
Madeline is an actress who has known Helen for years Helen is due to marry Ernest, a cosmetic surgeon, but Madeline steels him away and married him herself. Helen build up a hatred for Madeline and over the years she gets fat and spends her time in her apartment watching a death scene from one of Madeline's films. She dreams of winning Earnest back and getting revenge on Madeline.
We move to 7 years later where Madeline is obsessed with getting old and lives for surgery and Ernest is now working in a morgue. Madeline thinks she needs more work as she has been invited to a book signing from Helen and is shocked when she is told she cannot have any work done as it is too soon since her last work. She gets given a card with details of a place where special work can be done to keep her young forever but she dismisses this and shoves the card in her bag. Later when she sees how good and young Helen looks she decide to go and see about this new work. She gets given a potion which makes her young and stops the aging process but when she returns home she discovers that Helen and Ernest are plotting to kill her.
Madeline learns that she cannot be killed due to the potion and she needs Ernest to help her keep looking fresh but with Helen trying to win him just what will happen, and how come Helen looks so young and good?
I have seen this film a few times over the years but never really sat and watched it properly, that was until hubby decided he wished to watch it as well. I do enjoy the film and think the storyline is good and for the year it was made it still looks good and holds its own. The acting is excellent and is what really helps make the story so good and entertaining.
The role of Madeline is played by Meryl Streep and she is fantastic, she plays the aging woman perfectly at the start of the film and shows how hard it is for her being an actress to age so badly. I loved how she changed and got more confidence when she had taken the potion and she worked well with the make up and effects which were used on her. There was a good but strained chemistry between her and the role of Helen, she was played by Goldie Hawn and they really did bounce off each other. Goldie Hawn was another good actress in the film and I love how she changed from being a shy and nave woman at the start of the film to this man eating murderess in the middle of the film. She added a bit of humour to the film and she and Streep seemed to bond very well.
Bruce Willis took the role of Ernest and for some reason found him to be very weak and did not think he put everything into this role. He seemed to be lacking in conviction with his lines, he was playing a guy being pursued by two strong women but I think he would have come across slightly better if he had a stronger attitude and stood up for himself slightly more. I would have been able to believe in his character if this would have been the case. We did get a few good support character including, Isabella Rossellini, Adam Storke and Nancy Fish and they did give good performances but they were not very central to the storyline.
The film was made in 1992 and this is apparent from the costumes and hairstyles. I did not let this spoil my enjoyment of the film and do not think is looked very dated. I think the way this film has been made then it would still be able to hold its own in today's market, mainly due to the strong acting from Hawn and Streep. The special effects which were used were all very good and blended effortlessly into the film. I think that for the year of production then they were very good and I found the were not over the top but very suitable and fitting for the film and setting. The music was good but nothing special and I found it did help with the drama and comedy of the storyline.
The story is not a comedy but some of the lines and the way Hawn and Streep bounced off each other made for some fun viewing, there were no laugh out loud moments but I did have a good few chuckles with the way things happened or the odd one liners.
As this is a film only review there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 104 minutes and I found this to be a good length with the storyline moving at a good pace from start to finish. The film has a PG rate, there are one or two swear words in the film but I think they are no worse than ones which can be heard on the TV any time of the day or night so have to agree with the rate.
I have to give this film 4 stars despite being nearly 20 years old now as the storyline was good and so too was the acting, the film has dated well and is very enjoyable, I would advise you to all try and catch this next time t comes on the TV.
Written by sewbizzie
Busy wife and mother, married to a soldier and have 3 crazy boys.
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