Half Moon Street (1986)

i must have seen a different film!!

How sad is this?

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

So I'm looking for an oldie to watch on a boring afternoon. I ran into this one on YouTube and since I like Michael Cain I decided to give it a go. I wish I'd given it a miss, instead.The film is nothing to write home about. But it's Sigourney Weaver's character that annoyed me beyond endurance. She plays Dr. Lauren Slaughter, a super intelligent, witty, educated woman, who is a research fellow at the Arab-Anglo Institute in London, and who decides to go into prostitution to fight boredom and make ends meet. At first you think she's honest and pragmatic about it. She's bored with her job, she needs the money, she turns tricks for an escort agency. That I could have respected, if that's the word I want.Instead, she treats us to an endlessly snarly, hackneyed, pseudo- feminist attitude, which is painful to watch. She eschews makeup and nice clothes (her wits are enough to dazzle clients), and spouts commonplace, moral drivel to her "employers" and all her dates, as if to say, 'Look, I'm still intelligent, educated; and I'm a liberated woman, too, not an object.' It's not prostitution if you want to do it, you see. Men will respect you in the morning. Seriously? You're still turning tricks for money, dear. Men still pay to use your body. You won't understand my complaint if you are a man, or if you are a modern-day feminist (all the latter understand is 'You don't criticize women. Ever.' And they think that's enough to make them good feminists). But I was annoyed and bored to half to death.And in the end, in spite of all her intelligence, education, smart-as-a-whip comebacks ... Dr. Slaughter still gets conned, big time. Aww.

This starts off quite well, with some interesting ideas about traditions, rituals and values in different societies, however about halfway into it, the film starts to fall down, triggered by the introduction of thriller elements that just do not quite work. Sigourney Weaver delivers a strong performance throughout though. The rest of the performers do not do much out of the ordinary, but Weaver manages to bring a sense of credibility to her part, although she is too often topless. The partial nudity involving her is excessive for the film's story, but otherwise, she is great to have on screen, and her attractiveness does not hurt. There is not much of a directing vision to the material, the story is only half-good and there are probably a few other minor problems to be found. Sigourney Weaver certainly enlivens the material however, and the film is not bad to start with. For Weaver fans, it is definitely worth a look, however even for others it is satisfactory enough film-making to be perhaps worth checking out.

I admit that I only rented this film because it has my favorite actress, Sigourney Weaver, but I was surprised to find out that this is a well acted, well written, and extremely entertaining gem. I expected the film to be pretty mediocre and kinda dull since it involves politics, but Half Moon Street is now one of my favorite films. Plot: (POSSIBLE SPOILER OR 2)Dr. Lauren Slaughter has grown tired of her low paying posistion at a university in London. She recieves a videotape from an anonymous person and watches it immediately. It turns out to be about an Escort Service. At first she thinks it's completely rediculous, but then realizes she doesn't have very many options, so she goes for an interview and gets the job. She is brought into the life of Lord Bulbeck, a British diplomat who is working on a top secret peace settlement with the Middle-East, and the two come to like eachother. What they both don't know is that someone is watching them and that now they're lives are in jeopardy. The Good:An original plot that is pulled off quite well. Great performances from everyone, especially Weaver and Caine who have a great chemistry together. The pace is fast and there's lots of suspense and intrigue. I also love the music score.The Bad:The pace lags at times, but other than that I saw few problems with this movie.Overall rating: ***** out of *****

A bored woman decides to become a whore to break the monotony. One of her clients falls in love with her and draws her into a web of inner-city political intrigue. This 'story' meandered about like the Colorado River. Boring dialogue, confusing story, no entertainment value. I'd rather watch golf.