Diary entries forBody Heat
Body Heat
Sleazy fun.
Body Heat
“Talk is dangerous, sometimes it makes things happen.” Reader, I must confess—I was aroused. Body Heat is perhaps one of the horniest, most sensual noir films I’ve ever watched. So much so that it gave me a headache. Even fully clothed the characters ooze sex—the framing, the pacing, the dialogue and the music: all working together to achieve a level of eroticism that Hollywood would be terrified to put to film today. Hurt is beyond beautiful and Turner is a gorgeous seductress. Together, their chemistry is off the charts. The noir elements don’t really come into play until around half the at through the film and while I thought a lot of it was telegraphed or perhaps, predictable (genre conventions, am i right?) I throughly enjoyed the second half’s exploration of desire and violence. A quote that came to my mind after Ned and Matty decide to go through with their plan was: “What if love arouses murder? What if this were true?” from Querelle(a film that would come out a year later, is also sexy and one of my all timer favorites). A tangential parallel perhaps, but I find it interesting to think about desire being a step away from being capable murder or worse—and not just sexual desire, but the desire for more, for circumstances better than your own. Glad I didn’t watch this in the summer. I can’t stand the heat.
Body Heat
APRIL MOVIES 2025 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZqgZMSjOnI) MATTY: 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. NED: 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. MATTY: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵. NED: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. The original 𝘎𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭. Sweat and sunset. Wind chimes and glow. Post coital bath sits, ice thrown in the porcelain. I will not abide by 80s sensitizationism and sensualization for the film to earn its actual desires in a fog-machine warped mansion to add mystery and heat to our two players. It’s sticky in sweat in its first hour, and then plays with elements of thriller and crime in its last hour with inventive camera tricks that end up more as gags than actual drive towards anything too compelling when we get to resolutions because you’re left with a big, “Is that it?” Turner plays a fine Florida woman, but underutilized with lack of costuming where elegance could be provided. And William Hurt is sleazy enough, but not hot enough to make be believe this could be a love that lasts. The running time overstays its welcome, but it’s fun and fine for one of those hot summer days that keep you up all night.
