Black Widow (1987)

An agent (Debra Winger) for the Department Of Justice is convinced that a woman (Theresa Russell) marries wealthy men for their money and murders them soon after the wedding. Without any real evidence to back her up, she follows the woman to Hawaii where she has already met her next target (Sami Frey). Directed by Bob Rafelson (FIVE EASY PIECES), the most interesting aspect of the film isn't the suspense factor but the cat and mouse relationship (which has a strong sexual undercurrent) between the two female protagonists. Both Winger and Russell give fine performances but ultimately it's Russell's fascinating black widow that steals the movie. Winger's obsessive federal agent eventually becomes tiresome so that I found myself almost rooting for Russell's deadly viper to get away with her crimes. To the film's credit, it doesn't try to explain Russell's motives which makes her character ambiguous and even more compelling. As a thriller, it's rather routine, so it's the performances that make it worth a watch. With Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson, Diane Ladd, Lois Smith, Terry O'Quinn, Rutanya Alda and James Hong.