Consenting Adults * (1992, Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller) – Classic Movie Review 10,117

The 1992 mystery crime drama Consenting Adults is a disastrous, preposterous film noir thriller from Alan J Pakula (trying to follow up Presumed Innocent) in which Priscilla Parker (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio)’s husband Richard (Kevin Kline) falls for Kay Otis (Rebecca Miller), the wife of his creepy new next door neighbour Eddy (Kevin Spacey), agrees to nocturnal bed-hopping and finds himself accused of murder.

Richard Parker does not seem to know the Tenth Commandment: ‘Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Wife’.

The Strangers on a Train-style premise is excellent (the two male neighbours offer to exchange wives for one night), but the plot is awash with impossible coincidences and ludicrous motivations, and everything about the movie goes totally awry. The film has a lot of the right ingredients, but cannot stir them into a palatable brew. Especially given the talent involved, the performances are spectacularly unpersuasive, apart from Spacey’s eerie turn as the killer.

Also in the cast are Forest Whitaker, E G Marshall, Kimberly McCullough, Benjamin Hendrickson and Billie Neal.

It is written by Matthew Chapman.

It was iffy at the box office: cost, $18,000,000; US gross, $21,591,728.

Consenting Adults is directed by Alan J Pakula, runs 99 minutes, is made by Hollywood Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1 and Permut Presentations, is released by Buena Vista Pictures (1992) (US) and Buena Vista International (1992) (UK), is written by Matthew Chapman, is shot in colour by Stephen Goldblatt, is produced by Pieter Jan Brugge (executive producer), Alan J Pakula and David Permut, is scored by Michael Small, with production designs by Carol Spier.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,117

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