Belle de nuit (1994 TV Movie)
4/10
Weak Cast Hurts A Story That Isn't Too Bad
13 March 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Weak and uninspired performances from a largely unknown cast badly mar this otherwise decent enough story of a young woman (Sheila Kelley) whose double life leads her into danger.

Most of the cast seem to float through the movie without any real effort. There's little believable emotion displayed. The only performance better than mediocre was that of A Martinez as Kenny, who made a believable enough bad guy. In fact, Kenny is the most intriguing character in the entire movie. You don't feel any sympathy for him, but you also know there's something more to this story than meets the eye.

The story is not bad. If you watch carefully you'll know who the real "bad guy" is long before the end, but still it provides an interesting twist not at all suggested in the earlier parts of the movie. There are a lot of holes in the plot, though, and too many "cliche" type problems ("sorry ma'am, you'll have to come back in 48 hours," says the cop as Elizabeth reports her friend missing. Doesn't that happen in every movie about a missing person?) confronting Elizabeth (Rachel Ticotin) as she tries to play detective and discover Sarah's fate. One also wonders how long this double life of Sarah has been going on (long enough for her to be fairly well known at the seedy bar she goes to anyway) and why it hasn't taken its toll on her long ago. And what happened to Elizabeth's husband in the end anyway? Did she divorce him? Send him to jail? We never get an answer.

So, not bad, but there's still a lot lacking in this movie. I give it 4/10.
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