DECEIVED. Directed by Damian Harris; written by Mary Donohue and Derek Saunders; produced by Michad Finnel, Wendy Dozoretz and Ellen Collett for Tonchstone. Starring Goldie Hawn and John Heard. Rated PG-13.
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In Deceived, Goldie Hawn joins a rich tradition of suspicious movie wives. The story idea is undoubtedly a good one for scaring the audience. What could be more frightening than to suspect that the person closest to you is not what, or even who, he seems?
Deceived won't make anyone forget Hitchcock's Suspicion, to be sure. But it's an entertaining mystery. And it's flaws are, for the most part, minor enough not to interfere with your enjoyment of the story.
One not-so-minor problem, though, is the casting of Hawn. She's undoubtedly an appealing actress, and her character earns our sympathy effortlessly. But her forte is comedy, or at least lighter, less melodramatic fare than Deceived. And, appealing as she is, our awareness of this is an intermittent distraction.
Heard, on the other hand, is perfect as the deceiving husband. He's charming enough for us to understand his wife's affection for him, but with enough subtle menace to make her suspicion of him just as believable.
Stylistically, the technical side of the picture is competent but not inspired. My only real complaint is that there are a few too many cheap shot scares—shadowy figures jumping out of doorways, etc. Too much of that makes me resentful, even as I'm taken in and just as startled as the moviemakers want me to be.
As far as production design goes, the architecture of Hawn and Heard's apartment seems unnecessarily complicated for most of the movie. But the bang-up final chase sequence uses all the twists and turns to good effect.
Deceived breaks no new ground, and a couple of whopping lapses in logic spoil an overall good story idea. But it's entertaining enough, if your standards aren't set too high.
October 9, 1991