Body Heat
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Curiously , Body Heat 's tagline also rests on women's superior knowledge, but implies that they give generously: 'She taught him everything she knew - about passion and murder', Femmes fatales, however, hardly ever tell the full story, and one wonders that, by the 1980s, their prey have not seen enough 1940s noirs to alert them to this. Matty lures Ned Racine (William Hurt) into a plot whereby she defrauds her husband, murders him and makes Ned take the fall."--The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema (2005) by Linda Ruth Williams Ned: “Maybe you shouldn’t go out dressed like that.” --Body Heat (1981) |
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Body Heat is a 1981 American neo-noir erotic thriller film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan in his directorial debut. It stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Mickey Rourke. The film was inspired by Double Indemnity (1944).
Plot
Ned Racine (William Hurt), an inept South Florida lawyer, meets and begins an affair with Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner). Matty's wealthy husband, Edmund, is always away on business during the week. Late one night, Ned arrives at the Walker mansion and, seeing Matty in the gazebo, playfully propositions her. The woman is actually Mary Ann Simpson, Matty's old high school friend who physically resembles her and who is briefly in town. Soon after, Matty tells Ned she wants a divorce, but a prenuptial agreement would leave her almost nothing. When she wishes Edmund was dead, Ned suggests murdering him so Matty can inherit his wealth. Ned consults a shady former client, Teddy Lewis (Mickey Rourke), an explosives expert, who provides Ned a small incendiary device, though he advises Ned to abandon his plans.
After murdering Edmund, Ned and Matty move his body to an abandoned building that Edmund owns. Ned detonates the bomb to appear as if Edmund accidentally died during a botched arson attempt. Soon after, Edmund's lawyer contacts Ned about a new will that Ned supposedly drafted for Edmund and which was witnessed by Mary Ann Simpson. The new will was improperly prepared, making it null and void and results in Matty inheriting Edmund's entire fortune, while disinheriting his sister. Despite Ned's previous warning against making any estate changes, Matty forged the new will, exploiting Ned's past malpractice issues, knowing it would be nullified and leaving her the sole beneficiary. Ned knows the police will consider the new will suspicious. A prominent plot point centers on a complicated and often misunderstood legal rule known as the rule against perpetuities.
Two of Ned's friends, assistant deputy prosecutor Peter Lowenstein, and police detective Oscar Grace, suspect Ned may be involved in Edmund's death. Evidence includes Edmund's missing eyeglasses, which he always wore. On the night of the murder, hotel phone records show that repeated calls to Ned's room went unanswered, thereby weakening his alibi. Also, police are unable to locate Mary Ann Simpson.
Increasingly nervous over the mounting evidence and questioning Matty's loyalty, Ned happens upon a lawyer acquaintance who says he recommended Ned to Matty Walker. He admits telling her about Ned's limited legal skills. Later, Teddy tells Ned about a woman wanting an incendiary device, and says he showed her how to booby trap a door. Teddy also says the police have been asking him questions about the apparent arson.
Matty calls Ned and says that Edmund's glasses are in her boathouse. Ned arrives late that night and spots a wire attached to the boathouse door. Matty arrives, and, following a confrontation, Ned asks her to retrieve the glasses. Meanwhile, Oscar Grace arrives and observes their interaction. To prove herself, Matty walks toward the boathouse and disappears from view; the boathouse then explodes. A body found inside is identified as Matty Walker (née Tyler).
Now in prison, Ned, having realized Matty duped him, tries to convince Oscar Grace that she is still alive. He believes that "Matty" assumed the real Matty Tyler's identity in order to marry and murder Edmund. Ned surmises the "Mary Ann Simpson" that Ned previously met had discovered the scheme and was blackmailing Matty, only to be murdered and her body used to identify her as Edmund's wife. Had Ned been killed in the boathouse explosion as Matty likely intended, he reasons the police would have found both suspects' bodies.
In the epilogue, Ned, in prison, obtains a copy of Matty's high school yearbook: in it are photos of Mary Ann Simpson and Matty Tyler, confirming his suspicion that Mary Ann assumed Matty Walker's identity. Below Mary Ann's photo is the nickname "The Vamp" and "Ambition—To be rich and live in an exotic land".
In the final scene, the real Mary Ann (Matty) is seen lounging on a tropical beach.
