Body of Evidence (1993 film)

Body of Evidence is a 1993 erotic thriller film directed by Uli Edel, written by Brad Mirman, and starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe, with Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Julianne Moore, and Jürgen Prochnow in supporting roles.

Widely considered to be a vanity project for Madonna and derided for its plot inconsistencies and incongruous dialogue, it marked her fourth film performance to be universally panned by critics, following Shanghai Surprise, Who's That Girl, and Bloodhounds of Broadway.

In France and Japan, the film was released under the name Body. In Japan, Madonna's other 1993 film Dangerous Game was released there as Body II even though the films have nothing in common nor are related to each other in narrative.

Plot
The elderly and wealthy Andrew Marsh dies from complications stemming from an erotic incident involving bondage and homemade pornography. The main suspect is his lover Rebecca Carlson who proclaims her innocence to lawyer Frank Dulaney. Initially believing her, Frank agrees to represent her.

District Attorney Robert Garrett seeks to prove that Rebecca deliberately killed Marsh in bed to receive the $8 million he left her in his will. As the trial begins, Rebecca and Frank enter a sadomasochistic sexual relationship behind the back of Frank's unsuspecting wife, Sharon.

During their first sexual encounter, Rebecca secures Frank's arms behind his back using his own belt and alternately pours hot wax and champagne on him before having sex.

After an ex-lover of Rebecca's, Jeffrey Roston, testifies that he also had a heart condition, and both changed his will to favour Rebecca, and that she was sexually domineering and compelled him to engage in sexual activity with no regard to his health, describing an incident that clearly resonates with Frank's own experience, Frank attempts to end their affair.

Sharon confronts him about the affair having figured it out from a phone call with Rebecca as well as the strange marks on his body from the hot wax. Frank goes to Rebecca's home and accuses her of telling his wife about them (although Sharon says she worked it out from her tone alone). Rebecca taunts Frank, and he pushes her to the ground. Rebecca begins to masturbate on the floor in front of him. Rebecca pulls out handcuffs, Frank forcibly cuffs her hands instead and sexually assaults her. Initially she resists before appearing to enjoy the assault.

Footage from Marsh's home video reveals that he had an affair with his secretary, Joanne Braslow, who is a key witness against Rebecca. He also had previously left Joanne more money in his will before beginning his relationship with Rebecca. She says that she was hurt but she loved him and would never hurt him. However, there is evidence that she bought the murder weapon. Rebecca suggests to Frank that the secretary tried to frame her, but he is now less sure of her innocence in the crime.

Rebecca takes the stand and her surprising testimony that Roston had an affair with another man convinces the jury, which acquits her. Before leaving court, she mockingly thanks Frank and indicates that she is guilty after all.

Frank still cannot resist going to Rebecca's home, where he overhears an incriminating conversation between her and Marsh's doctor, Alan Paley. He confronts the co-conspirators, realizing that it was Paley who supplied the fatal dose of cocaine. Rebecca is amused by Frank's discovery of her manipulating him, but Paley is shocked to learn that she was in a sexual relationship with Frank as well. Rebecca mocks both men, bluntly acknowledging that she used her sexual prowess to control and humiliate both of them, as well as Marsh. Paley realizes she does not care about him and becomes enraged.

After a struggle with Frank who tries to save Rebecca, Paley shoots her twice. She plunges from a window to her death. Paley is arrested for murdering her.

Before leaving the scene with his wife to repair their relationship, Frank then tells Garret he should've won the case with Garrett replying: "I did".

Production
Body of Evidence was filmed in Portland, Oregon, with the Pittock Mansion serving as a primary location. The cemetery scene featured in the beginning of the film was shot on location at Lone Fir Cemetery.

Julianne Moore said her nude scene in this movie was "just awful": "I was too young to know better. It was the first time I'd been asked to get naked and it turned out to be completely extraneous and gratuitous."

Box office
Body of Evidence performed poorly at the box office. In its second week it experienced a 60% drop. It grossed $13 million in the United States and Canada and $25 million internationally for a worldwide total of $38 million.

Censorship
The film originally received the rare NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. The first theatrical release was censored for the purpose of obtaining an R rating, reducing the film's running time from 101 to 99 minutes. The video premiere, however, restored the deleted material.

Critical response
Body of Evidence has an 8% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 38 reviews, with a rating average of 3.10/10. The critical consensus reads, "Body of Evidence's sex scenes may be kinky, but the ludicrous concept is further undone by the ridiculous dialogue." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C" on scale of A+ to F. The film appeared on the 2005 list of Roger Ebert's most hated films. The screenplay and performances were especially disparaged. His colleague Gene Siskel called Body of Evidence a "stupid and empty thriller" that is worse than her softcore coffee table book Sex.

Julianne Moore later regretted acting in the film and went on to call it "a big mistake".