Ira Levin's 1953 novel of the same name provides the inspiration for this offbeat thriller which features an homme fatale who marries for money, is driven by an unusual obsession and kills without compunction. He's dangerous, duplicitous and driven by a lust for wealth, power and status that's so strong that it makes him deal ruthlessly with any impediments that get in his way. Because he's handsome, an inveterate schemer and also appears to be very personable, the danger he poses isn't readily apparent to other people and it's this quality that's well exploited to provide "A Kiss Before Dying" with most of its suspense.Since his early childhood, Jonathan Corliss (Matt Dillon) had been obsessed by the wealth and power of the Carlsson family who owned the local copper mining company and this triggered in him a determination to achieve the same level of success and prestige in his own life. As a student at the University of Pennsylvania, he takes his first steps to achieving his goal by dating Dorothy Carlsson (Sean Young), the blonde daughter of the company's owner. Their relationship is kept a secret from their fellow students and goes well until Dorothy tells Jonathan that she's pregnant and feels compelled to get married without delay, even though this would inevitably mean being disinherited by her very conservative father. Jonathan seems to play along with the idea of getting married when the couple go to Philadelphia City Hall but arranges to arrive when the marriage licence bureau is closed and then suggests that they pass their waiting time up on the roof of the building. It's there that he takes the opportunity to throw Dorothy off a ledge to her certain death and casually leaves the building unnoticed as a crowd gather's around his victim's blood-covered body.Dorothy's death is treated as a suicide by the authorities but her twin sister Ellen (also played by Sean Young) doesn't believe this verdict for a minute. She knows it would have been totally out of character for her sister to do such a thing and her view is reinforced by the discovery that on the day of her death, Dorothy had bought a new pair of shoes.Jonathan hitch-hikes to New York and his conversation with his driver fortuitously provides him with all the material he needs to assume a new identity when he becomes a social worker and colleague of Ellen Carlsson who he befriends and later marries. As Jay Faraday, Jonathan gradually seems to achieve what he wanted after cleverly gaining the confidence of Ellen's father, Thor Carlsson (Max von Sydow) and being appointed to a high-powered job in his company. Ellen's continued determination to discover the truth about her twin's death, however, continues to cause problems which he naturally confronts very directly.What makes Jonathan Corliss' obsession so unusual is the way in which he seems to regard the Carlssons as being synonymous with everything he craves rather than just being an example of it and it's this that makes him such a danger to that family. His obsession stems from his modest background and his childhood, during which he used to stare at the freight trains passing by his home and noticed the words "Carlsson Copper Corp" which were prominently displayed on the sides of each truck.The brooding quality that Matt Dillon shows at various junctures effectively signals the presence of his obsession and the subtle ways in which he balances his character's psychopathic and more conventional behaviours also makes his performance both strong and effective. There are also good supporting performances from Max von Sydow and Diane Ladd (as Jonathan's mother) but Sean Young's portrayal of Ellen is quite expressionless at times and for this reason fails to be convincing.The plot of the 1956 forerunner of this movie (which starred Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward) has been tweaked to make it better attuned to its 1980s setting and is also well-served by having been injected with plenty of pace and tension. The story itself is also sufficiently different from most similar thrillers to easily sustain its audience's high level of interest from start to finish.

Tacky murder-mystery about a twisted con-man romancing the daughter of a wealthy business tycoon shortly after murdering her lookalike sister. Writer-director James Dearden completely revamps Ira Levin's book from the 1950s (even more so than the '56 version starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward), but the changes are less effectual--and the lead performances by Matt Dillon and Sean Young are unconvincing. Dearden gives the violence a visual jolt, and the movie may well pass muster for those searching for something to watch on a dull weekend, but it's incredibly sloppy around the edges. Young (in a dual role) is so determined to be taken seriously as an actress that her archness mitigates the camp-lasciviousness of her persona (she might have been slinky or kinky, but settles instead for starchy). Tellingly, this was Young's last starring role in a 'quality' production, although Dillon's career managed to survive. *1/2 from ****

A Kiss Before Dying is a remake, telling the story of a driven successful executive who murders a wealthy young girl, and than plots to marry and than murder her twin sister so that he can inherit a fortune from her father's huge cooperation.Matt Dillon does a wonderful job as as the sinister youthful executive, who uses good looks, charm, and incredible manipulation to lure unsuspecting victims into his next con game. Dillon gives all the right moods and tone settings to his character. Matt makes the movie. The problem is the acting by the other characters, even the very talented Max Von Sydow is wasted and superficial. Sean Young, who plays the roles of both twin daughters doesn't bring enough suspense or energy to the part. Her vulnerabilities and weaknesses are demonstrated early on, making her even easier pray for Dillan's character.However, the movie isn't as bad as some of the other reviewers have mentioned. It's a good little mystery flick to watch once or twice when it comes on just to see Matt Dillan's excellent performance. However, the lack of energy or suspense from the other characters indicates that they would rather be somewhere else than in this picture.A Kiss Before Dying is a pretty good movie, but nowhere near what it could have been.

(There are Spoilers) Meeting young Philadelphia collage student Dorothy Carlsson, Sean Young, at that city's municipal buildings marriage license bureau Jonathan Corliss, Matt Dillon, finds the office closed for lunch. Jonathan then talks the madly in love with him Dorothy into going up on the roof to see the sights until the office opens. Chit-chatting with Dorothy about their forthcoming marriage and what her authoritative father copper tycoon Thor Carlsson, Max Von Sydow,would do to her when he found about about it. Jonathan suddenly grabs a shocked Dorothy by her legs and shoves her off the roof and to her death below. Quickly leaving the building Jonathan drops a letter in the mailbox written by Dorothy that's supposed to be a suicide note that he had earlier tricked her into writing.We later learn that Dorothy was made pregnant by Jonathan and the thought of him marrying her with her father cutting Dorothy out of her sizable inheritance was not in his plans. This drove him to murder her in order to keep Mr. Carlsson from finding out about it which he did anyway. What we also learn in what's in Jonathan's sick and devious plans is to go to step two and get to know and romance Dortohy's twin sister Ellen, also played by Sean Young. In this way Jonathan can have her replace the deceased Dorothy as his very rich and future wife.Hitch-hiking to New York City where Ellen works as a volunteer at Castel House, a Covenant House-like shelter for the homeless, Jonathan is picked up Jay Faraday,Adam Horovitz, who we later find out he murdered and stole his identity. In no time at all Jonathan works his way into Ellen's heart getting a job at Castle House and working together with her driving around the drug and crime infested streets of mid-town Manhattan. The two volunteer workers pick up and give hope as well as finding a home for discarded homeless and drug-addicted youths. Unknown to Jonathan Ellen never believed that her sister Dorothy killed herself and with her going out on her own to solve Dorothy's death it will lead to uncovering who her real killer is; Ellen's future husband Jonathan, now known as Jay Faraday, Corliss!Unlike in the original "A Kiss Before Dying" in the updated version Jonathan and Ellen do get married and her finding out about him being her sister's murderer she discovers on her own. Not with the help of the ex-cop and now private investigator Dan Corelli, James Russo, whom she hired. Ellen as well as her father Thor are far more naive about her boyfriend/husband in this version of the movie then in he original with all the clues about Jonathan right in front of them. The most obvious being that Jonathan was using an assumed and stolen, from one of his murder victims, name which by not being able to find that very simple fact out was by far the biggest blunder that Thor Cralsson made in the movie. Were earlier told that Mr. Carlsson was so protective of his daughters that he had anyone who dated them investigated from head to toe. So why couldn't he find out that his future son-in-law was not only an impostor but possibly, with him assuming the name of a missing person, a murderer as well!The ending is by far the best part of the movie far better then the ending of the 1956 version. Even though overall it was not as good as the 1956 original Jonathan gets it a lot worse here in the form of a runaway diesel locomotive; where in the 1956 film he was only done in by an 18 wheeler.