"You’re no one in this country unless you are on TV, " declares Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman in a scene from the movie), an overly ambitious weather girl who believes that a career in TV is To Die For.
Suzanne is a single woman in the town of little Hope, New Hampshire. She has the looks, but lacks in the intelligence that go with them. She catches the fancy of the town hunk, Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), son of towns wealthy restaurateur and soon ties the knot with him. However everything falls apart when she gets a job as weather reporter for a local cable TV network. While Larry looks for a typical housewife in Suzzane and wants to father babies, Suzanne is chasing a dream of glamour in the world of television. This conflict of ideals leads to a bitter conflict between the couple.
To get out of this tight situation Suzanne hatches a plan; while making a documentary on high school kids, she seduces teenager Jimmy (Joaquin) who is helping her with the works and lures him to bump off Larry. Jimmy takes help of his teen friends (played by Alison Folland and Casey Affleck) and does away with Suzanne’s biggest obstacle to stardom.
The film unfolds like a piece one would find on a newsmagazine show, with various characters, including Suzanne and Jimmy, addressing the camera directly as if being interviewed. These interview segments help understand what was going through the characters’ minds as the events are recreated onscreen, as well as give insights into their personalities.
Nicole Kidman has done a wonderful job of the vacuous and vicious Suzanne. She perfectly captures the overwrought mannerisms of someone so completely obsessed with television that she could kill. Nicole brings forth with aplomb the hidden turmoils of Suzanne who finds herself tied tight in the nuptial knots. Matt Dillon as Larry leaves much to be desired for, he looks half-baked and not completely into his character. Good performance comes from the young trio of Joaquin Phoenix, Alison Folland and Casey Affleck – it takes a great performance to look one with little mental capacity and the trio just does that effortlessly through their body language and vacant eyes.
To Die For may not be for those who love sunny and nice Hollywood fare, but for anyone who enjoys a good dose of mean-spirited comedy, you can’t go wrong here. The plot is captivating enough to catch the fancy of the Bhatt brothers…now before they get ‘inspired’, I advice you watch the original.
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