Consenting Adults (1992)
Starring: Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Forest Whitaker
Directed by: Alan J. Pakula
Runtime: 99 minutes
Studio: Walt Disney Video
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Review: Consenting Adults
Richard (Kevin Kline) and Priscilla Parker (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) have a seemingly strong marriage but when new neighbours – Eddy (Kevin Space) and Kay (Rebecca Miller) – arrive things change. The two couples become friends but Eddy is frustrated with Richard for not being a risk taker. When Eddy receives an insurance pay out after claiming he is injured after being hit by a car, he splits the money with the Parkers but it isn’t enough to change Richard. Eddy knows Richard’s weakness though. Being a composer, Richard has been naturally drawn to Kay who enjoys singing the blues. Eddy proposes wife swapping and the plan is to sneak out in the middle of the night and make love to the unsuspecting wives without them realising it isn’t their husband that they’re having sex with! Richard agrees to this and that’s when everything goes wrong.
After sleeping with Kay, Richard is overcome by guilt the following day and goes for a run. He is soon in a panic when the police head for Eddy’s house. Richard goes in and finds Kay has been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Eddy is there being restrained and accusing Richard of murder. The bat has Richard’s fingerprints on it and his semen is found in Kay so the police are in no doubt about the killer. Eddy has an alibi that claims he was out of town the night of the murder so clearly he didn’t go through his part in the wife swap arrangement. Richard loses everything – his wife, his child, his home – and Eddy is revealed as the ultimate nemesis by not only getting Richard out of the way but by claiming Priscilla for himself. Can Richard prove he isn’t the killer or will Eddy keep him behind bars?
One of Kevin Spacey’s earlier films before the glory days of Seven, The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, Consenting Adults still reveals his gift for the truly sinister characters. Eddy is clever and ruthless in luring Richard into a trap and having him accused of murder. While Spacey easily steals the film with his performance, Kline is also good as the ordinary guy who is driven down a dark path by his desire for Kay and in order to face Eddy he has to change his ways or risk losing his family forever. As with all films of this nature, we know that Eddy will make a mistake but when and how is not for me to say.
Consenting Adults is a good thriller with two great leads in Kline and Spacey. Though Spacey doesn’t deliver his best performance here it is still fascinating seeing the master laying the foundations for some brilliant roles he would come to play within a few years of this film. Notable appearances from Mastrantonio and an early appearance from Oscar-winner Forest Whittaker are also worthy of mention here but the film belongs to Spacey and he makes this one worth watching.
Verdict: 4/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 770 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.