A Perfect Murder
A Perfect Murder is a 1998 American crime thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by Patrick Smith Kelly. Loosely based on Frederick Knott’s 1952 stage play Dial M for Murder, the film stars Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow as a wealthy Manhattan couple whose marriage becomes entangled in deception, infidelity, and a murder plot. Viggo Mortensen co-stars as the wife's lover, whose secret affair is exploited in a deadly scheme by her husband.
Plot
Wall Street financier Steven Taylor is married to the younger and wealthy Emily Bradford, who is secretly having an affair with artist David Shaw. Unknown to Emily, Steven has discovered the affair and investigates David’s background, uncovering that he is actually Winston Lagrange, a con artist with a criminal record who targets affluent women. Rather than turning him in, Steven proposes a deal: David is to murder Emily in exchange for $500,000.
More details
| author | Frederick Knott |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | New York City |
| director | Andrew Davis |
| editor | Dennis Virkler Dov Hoenig |
| genre | crime thriller |
| keywords | 20th century affair alibi amtrak botched robbery card game con artist criminal record discover inherit kill manhattan married mask meat thermometer perfect murder phone call plot twist record turn wall street |
| musicBy | James Newton Howard |
| producer | Arnold Kopelson Peter MacGregor-Scott |
| productionCompany | Arnold Kopelson |
| publisher | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| recordedAt | Long Island New Jersey Pinewood Studios |