To Die For (1995)

Directed by

Gus Van Sant

Genre

drama film, comedy drama, crime film, black comedy film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

1h 42m

Rated

R

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 895 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A small-town woman named Suzanne Stone is obsessed with becoming a famous TV personality. She manipulates her husband and a teenage boy into doing terrible things to help her career.

satiricaldarkly comediccerebralunsettlingstylishtensebitingmanipulative

What happens

To Die For is a 1995 American–British postmodernist mockumentary political satire black comedy film directed by Gus Van Sant. It stars Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix and Matt Dillon. The plot follows Suzanne Stone, an ambitious New Hampshire woman with dreams of becoming a celebrity, who will stop at nothing until she achieves fame on TV. The film's narrative combines a traditional drama with darkly comic direct-to-camera monologues by Kidman's character, and mockumentary interviews, some tragic, with other characters in the film. To Die For was written by Buck Henry based on Joyce Maynard's novel of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the story of Pamela Smart, a woman who was convicted in 1991 for being an accomplice in a plot to murder her husband. Henry, Maynard, George Segal, and David Cronenberg appear in cameo roles. The film features original music by Danny Elfman. The film received praise for its satire of the tabloid media, fame, and the true crime genre. The cast was subject to considerable praise, with Kidman earning the best notices in her career at that point. Kidman was nominated for a BAFTA, and won a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and a Best Actress Award at the 1st Empire Awards for her performance. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Sense and Sensibility (1995)
• Fight for Justice: The Nancy Conn Story (1995)
• French Kiss (1995)
• A Little Worm (1995)
• Boston Kickout (1995)
• A Village Affair (1995)
• Butterfly Kiss (1995)
• Cafe Society (1995)