Iconic actresses like Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, and Gene Tierney played scheming femmes fatales in the 1940s, defining the film noir archetype with roles in classics like Double Indemnity, Gilda, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Leave Her to Heaven, manipulating men for money or power with alluring, often deadly, charm.
That genre lay dormant for decades until revived with great panache in 1981 by Body Heat, a stylish, witty genre masterpiece and a commercial success. Hollywood being what it is, Body Heat inspired a rash of mediocre imitators, and China Moon was among them. While China Moon lacked the snappy dialogue, wit and swagger of Body Heat, it had the always capable Ed Harris as the earnest fly trapped in Madeleine Stowe’s web, and it had frontal nudity from Stowe. Unfortunately, it also had some narrative problems 1, and wasted a lot of great character actors in unsuitable roles. Future weirdo Benicio del Toro played a young, handsome cop, and he came across as stilted and clumsy by trying to act normal, which just isn’t his thing. The ever-imposing Charles Dance was his usual arrogant, despicable self. He has that character down to a science, but in this case he chose to deliver his lines with a southern accent that made him sound very much like Foghorn Leghorn.
Why did I list two dates for the film? China Moon was originally shot in 1990 to be released in 1991, but was shelved for three years because of the financial woes of Orion Pictures. When it was finally released, it did virtually nothing at the box and soon disappeared into pay cable hell.
For reasons not known to me, screenwriter Roy Carlson never sold another script or earned another IMDb credit after China Moon was released. Does anyone reading this know why? (He also wrote The Wrong Man, which was responsible for getting Rosanna Arquette to remove her top. That was filmed after China Moon, but released before it.) The only interesting things I could find out about Mr. Carlson: (1) he got his start in writing by creating counter-intelligence manuals for the defense industry; (2) he was familiar with the Lakeland, Florida locations used in this story, and had relatives there. I don’t know what happened to him after 1995, but I have a guess. A Roy Carlson died in Tampa in 1997, and the obit says his relatives lived in Lakeland. The obit listed no career accomplishments after his very distinguished military service. Of course, that is not necessarily our man, but death would certainly explain the abrupt end of his career.
Tomato Meter: 40%
Popcorn Meter: 40%
Madeleine Stowe
Patricia Healy
Theresa Bean
Footnote 1 – spoilers follow
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Stowe’s hidden accomplice is obvious from the opening credits! Somebody took the pictures of Stowe’s husband with the other woman. Only his hands and feet are shown, meaning that it is not some anonymous schmuck, but a character we would recognize if we saw him. Planted in our heads immediately is “who took those photos?” so we are looking for a possible suspect. When we see that Madeleine Stowe is too conveniently planted in a stool at a bar, making goo-goo eyes at Ed Harris, and that Benicio del Toro brought Ed Harris to that bar at that time, we know that Benicio is the accomplice, therefore probably also the photographer. Since we can see that Benicio must be setting Harris up, more than an hour before the film’s big “reveal,” it reduces the suspense to a level approaching zero.
That, coupled with the fact that the film just ends abruptly with everybody dead or doomed, makes the film just a by-the-numbers noir.
Ah, Madeleine Stowe – one of my all-time greatest fantasy crushes. Too bad, however, that those full-frontal shots were taken from such a distance. There should be some sort of law against that.
Remember Tennyson’s immortal words:
‘Tis better to have full-frontal, and from a distance
Than never to have full frontal at all
Madeleine Stowe, a favorite of mine in the early 90’s, demonstrated hotness despite her small boobs. Now that we have 1080p vids of her in China Moon, we can have her full frontal pics that are much clearer than those from over 30 years ago!
According to wiki, Madeline remains married to Brian Benben, since 1992. He sure outgrasped his reach, IMO. Well done to him.
“He sure outgrasped his reach, IMO.”
Which seemed to be the entire plot of Dream On.
“ends abruptly with everybody dead or doomed, makes the film just a by-the-numbers noir” That’s EVERY noir, & that’s why I love ’em – if I watched The Hot Spot, Internal Affairs, Bad Influence, Angel Heart, Poison Ivy, Romeo is Bleeding, as well as Blink & Unlawful Entry (both with Stowe) over & over on cable in the 90s, it sure wasn’t to point out plot inconsistencies, catch my drift?
EVERY noir?
Body Heat ends with yet another twist, as Ned finds out that “Matty” wasn’t who he (or we) thought she was. Meanwhile, Matty is definitely not dead or doomed!
As opposed to China Moon, where there are no surprises, no subtlety. Everyone shoots everyone else and the credits roll while the gunfight is still more or less in progress. (And Stowe has just killed a cop while many other cops watched her and even let her get off a second shot.)
I love noir, but it really spoils the film when the entire plot is telegraphed in advance in the first few minutes: (1) The photographer must be an important character – otherwise, why hide his identity? (2) The photographer can’t be Stowe, Dance, or Harris – and Benicio is the only other major character. Moreover, Benicio had to have told Stowe where and when to get spotted by Harris.
One of the most important pleasures of the noir is surprise, and this film really has none since it’s obvious that Benicio has to have set Harris up to meet Stowe. (How else could she know where she had to be at that exact time, in order for him to notice her?) Everything then unfolds exactly as expected. I wonder if the film would work better if they cut the obvious effort to hide the photographer’s identity. We don’t have to know that Dance is being photographed. If they simply show Charles Dance cheating on her, then later show her viewing the pictures, we would just assume she had hired some random private eye to spy on him, presumably to help justify a big divorce settlement. That would drive the narrative forward without revealing that one of the major characters must be her confederate, thus keeping the “secret” a secret.
Another key issue is that Body Heat’s Ned Racine is known to be lazy and incompetent, which is why he was chosen to be the patsy. In this plot, the femme fatale chose a known genius cop – the guy most likely to see through her. I can buy that he didn’t read the cards right because he was smitten, but I can’t buy that she would choose him in the first place, as the guy to dupe. Too risky.
Yes…immediately thought of “Body Heat”
One of best lines ever, from Body Heat: “You aren’t too smart, are you? I like that in a man.”
What else do you like? Lazy? Ugly? Horny? I got ’em all.
You don’t look lazy.