Mortal Thoughts

The Carnival Scene in Mortal Thoughts was actually filmed in a small-time amusement park in Scotch Plains, New Jersey called Bowcraft. The park is still in operation today and is better than ever. Ironically the Ferris Wheel that appears on the cover of the movie has since been removed due to the death of a child a few years back.

The hairdresser, wife and mother Cynthia Kellogg (Demi Moore) is in police department being interrogated by the experienced detective John Woods (Harvey Keitel) and his partner, Detective Linda Nealon (Billie Neal). Through flashbacks, she reveals how her best friend and colleague Joyce Urbanski (Glenne Headly) married the scum and nasty James Urbanski (Bruce Willis); how hard Joyce's life with James was; and why Joyce became a criminal. The smart detective finds some contradictions in her statement and presses Cynthia, trying to disclose the truth of two murders.

"Mortal Thoughts" is an intriguing and underrated low budget thriller. The storyline is simple but the tight screenplay and outstanding performances of the cast are impressive. Demi Moore performs a mother living in the dilemma between disclosing a secret and hiding the truth. Harvey Keitel in the role of an astute detective is amazing, finding the controversies in the testimony of Cynthia. Glenne Headly is also great, in the role of an abused and unsecured low class woman. Bruce Willis has a different role, performing a disgusting drug addicted. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Pensamentos Mortais" ("Mortal Thoughts")

Note: On 15 May 2016, I saw this film again.

Note: On 29 December 2022, I saw this film again.

"Mortal Thoughts" manages to sustain your interest throughout: it is a well-structured murder mystery with good performances by the entire cast, particularly from Bruce Willis (in one of his most unconventional roles) and Harvey Keitel who, despite his limited screen time, steals the show. But the film still falls short, maybe because it never really takes off. The final twist probably influenced the screenwriter of a very popular mid-90's cop film; those who have seen both films will understand which one I'm talking about.

`Mortal Thoughts' is another of those films which I nearly did not see, not because of any forgetfulness on my part, nor from any other involuntary reason, but quite frankly I tend to avoid any film with people like Bruce Willis (you can put in the names of Lundgren/van Damme/Stallone/Bruce Lee and other assorted muscular brainless types at your leisure) playing the big macho he-man; I'd rather have a try at cards on the computer, even though the two of clubs always goes missing when I most need it. As well as that, the title did not seem very inspiring. I mean, just how many films are there with the word `mortal' in them? I will tell you: just over 200 including video films etc. according to IMDb's incredible search facility.

As luck would have it, firstly there was not anything else on to while away a couple of relaxing hours, and secondly a few well-written commentaries from other IMDb users (I do not take any notice of badly-written commentaries, though of course I do take into account those little mistakes that creep in to commentaries written by people whose mother-tongue is not English) suggested that I was about to see a perfectly acceptable film.

How right they were, I am glad to say. If on the one hand Bruce Willis' participation is somewhat limited and what he did was really quite decent, on the other, a very young-looking Demi Moore (29 when she made the film) played a stirring rôle, which helped to put this thriller drama a head above most of similar ilk.

Alan Rudolph's directing of a well-written script produced a more than acceptable result, aided by those timely flash-backs between the interrogation and previous events. The formula was intelligently employed, such that at no time did you feel you were getting lost anywhere along the line - as so often happens in other films trying to use the flash-back/flash-forward method.

Cynthia (Demi Moore) is `helping police enquiries', which means interrogated, into the death of her best friend's husband (Bruce Willis), and as she recounts events, the film flashes back, at times even synchronising with the dialogues in the interrogation. A handy device, which lent much to the coherence and continuity. Good work here by Demi Moore and Glenne Headly as her best friend, and it was real good to see Harvey Keitel as the detective (see him in `Shadrach' (1998) (qv), Ridley Scott's classic `Thelma and Louise' (1991) and in `The Piano' (1993), to name a few of his best rôles.

As in all films of this genre, there is that plot twist in the denouement, but in this case perhaps it misfires a little: it left me with a slight taste of incoherence after all that had happened. It left too many incognitos floating about. Perhaps the idea was not too well thought out, or perhaps I was left with the two of clubs and nowhere to put it...... Maybe I am being a little unjust, or pedantic, as the film is worth your while with some interesting interpretations from all concerned.

Just about 6 out of ten on my scale, or a couple of decimals higher.

I'm not a big fan of the genre but this one is very well done. The flashback technique works beautifully. The acting is good by Headly, an awesome actress who should be A-list by now. Willis, who is a bit underrated because of the action blockbusters but does comedy well, is pretty believable here in a stereotypical type character that he manages to get something more out of than your average actor. Keitel is marvelous and you have to appreciate the nuances he brings out as the pro that he is. John Pankow is good and should be working more than he is. Moore has the largest role and as usual, she's the weakest actor, but decent enough to carry off the role. The story is riveting; you always can't wait to see what happens next. The touches of humor are really funny and come naturally from the characters and situations rather than being jokes. The plot has plenty of twists. The ending, while a little unsatisfying to me, does leave it up to the viewer to make the moral decisions. If you like suspense movies and great acting, you'll love this and even if you don't, you'll enjoy it anyway.