Indecent Proposal, Review

Originally written 2006-06-03

I can't tell you how long I've wanted to see this movie. After all, you know I have a penchant for films about traumatic romances. Thanks to Best Buy's Memorial Day sale, I picked up the DVD for a mere $3.99.

I hated this movie. It's a bad film. But it affected me deeply, stirring up emotions, and testing my convictions. So was it not still affective?

This movie came out over a decade ago, so the statute of limitations on spoilers is surely passed. In this movie, in case you didn't know, a down on their luck couple, played by Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore is propositioned by Robert Redford. One million dollars for one night with his wife. They could use the money. It's only her body. She's doing this for him. After all, true love conquers all, doesn't it?

If ever there was an anti-romantic movie, this was it. Of course this is a big-name Hollywood film. The couple, though put through trials, will end up together. I kept this in mind throughout the movie, but I still couldn't imagine how it could happen. The pacing is really off, it's too slow, and the happening didn't really grip me. But I kept watching because I wanted to see Robert Redford fail. Unfortunately, you really get the sense of how sincere his character is, and that he really is a good guy. And it's true. He's a great person, and you still want to punch him because of it. The events are quite suddenly and conveniently reconciled as if the story just runs out of steam and gives up. (Though, truthfully the thing just slowly meanders through nothing worthwhile for the whole second act.) It ends with such a cliche: Robert Redford's character realizes Demi Moore's character is just a little bit more compatible with Woody Harrelson's character, so he makes up a joke story about her being just a conquest, and she thanks him for giving her a reason to think he's a jerk and leave him.

But this is a great truth that you don't really see in films. I believe that's there's true love, yes. But that doesn't mean that there's only one person you can be with and still be truly happy. No, it's not just "settling." There are many different people you can truly love, who you can click with, who will compliment you and be a true partner. But that notion is just so unromantic--that love is not necessarily based on fate and destiny. To the romantic idealist, the events of this movie are devastating and soul-crushing.

So, the technical stuff. As I said before, the story is kinda plodding. And there are too many trick camera shots for this genre of film. And only Woody Harrelson's character exhibits any sort of notion of character development in this whole nearly-two hour film. I think the film is only decent, but that doesn't mean you can't be affected by it. I couldn't rank it as one of my favorites, but I don't think I can forget the stress it put me through.