Twisted (DVD)

I am a firm believer that several movies are better when you watch them in the comfort of your own home. You have the ease of mind knowing that you didn't pay $20 to get into the movie, another $20 at the concessions and if the movie is bad you don't have to drive home afterward.

Twisted was a movie that I did not particularly enjoy in theaters, as a matter of fact I disliked it, finding it way too obvious and just a complete mess structurally and unfortunately it doesn't get any better on DVD. I think people tend to be less critical when they are watching movies at home, but this film has made me even more critical and I think it is a perfect example of how NOT to make a thriller.

The movie centers on newly promoted police detective Jessica Shepard (Judd), a strong-willed woman whose affection for sex and large amounts of wine quickly become reasons for finger pointing as past sexual escapades of hers are coming up dead. As the body count increases her alibi comes into question as all eyes become focused on her.

The story is intriguing, but the way it is presented is far from interesting. Director Philip Kaufman gives a lot of his motivations away in his commentary and it quickly becomes obvious that his primary goal was to bring to life his precious hometown of San Francisco. Throughout the commentary he is often distracted by the setting while he explains the story and points out clues we should have caught on (which we did).

He also consistently wants to put this film in the genre of film noir, which makes it seem that his desire to put together a bleak and dark looking film also took precedent over the actual structure of the story. He options for cheap attempts at thrilling moments and often forgets to close storylines that are left wide open.

As for the other features there is a bevy of deleted and extended scenes which are exactly where they below, the cutting room floor, if you want I could recommend a couple others. There are also three featurettes, each approximately 10 minutes or so, and I will break down and admit that Philip Kaufman's mini-tour of San Fran, pointing out locations where things were shot was interesting to me.

A feature that would have appealed to me was listening to the cast point out exactly why audiences would be confused as to who the killer was with so many obvious clues, despite the several attempts by Kaufman to try and divert your attention.

I am a huge fan of Ashley Judd and it was a disappointment to find this film turn so sour. She is one actress that is very capable of pulling off the tough woman role, but this one just didn't work. If a Judd thriller is what you want better choices would be High Crimes or Double Jeopardy, as for Twisted, if you must check out this DVD rent it first, if you like it then by all means buy it, but I recommend a trip to Blockbuster first.