Review #1,068: 'Crimes of Passion' (1984)

Opening with Kathleen Turner's 'China Blue' facing the camera spreadeagled while a man performs cunnilingus on her, Ken Russell's barking mad Crimes of Passion starts as provocatively as it means to go on. A nightmare for the censors (as Russell's films generally were), Crimes of Passion had to undergo heavy cuts even to pass for an R rating upon its original release, when it was met with generally unfavourable reviews. Years later, it's still a somewhat baffling oddity with some terrible dialogue, but its certainly an interesting, one-off experience.

Fashion designer Joanna Crane (Turner) is a successful, emotionally cold businesswoman by day, but by night, she is China Blue, the most sought-after and beautiful prostitute to walk the streets. We see her pleasure a variety of men in a variety of ways, and she seems to enjoy her work. Her biggest fan is fanatical street preacher Rev. Peter Shayne (Anthony Perkins), a lunatic who watches her through a hole in the wall and wants to 'save her soul', carrying with him at all times a massive, blade-sharp dildo. Middle-class electrician Bobby Grady (John Laughlin) is married to his childhood sweetheart (Annie Potts) and is bored with her frigid ways. When he is assigned to spy on Joanna by her boss who falsely believes her to be stealing, he discovers her alter-ego and falls for her.

Although it explores themes of emotional detachment and sexual discovery, it's difficult to unravel just what Crimes of Passion is truly about. One moment the film will deliver a moment of tenderness between Joanna and Bobby, and suddenly shift the tone and focus onto Perkins' sweaty, nitrate-sniffing deviant. But if anyone can add an artistic bend to such a sleazy subject matter, it is Ken Russell, who manages to find neon-lit beauty in even the grimiest of locations. Turner and Perkins are terrific, while Laughlin fails to find any dimensions within his one-note character but, in his defence, is lumped with some wobbly dialogue. Laughably over-the-top and overlong at 110 minutes, it's a frustrating and sometimes silly experience, but one that I would recommend anybody to watch at least once.


Directed by: Ken Russell
Starring: Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, John Laughlin, Annie Potts
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie