When I saw 'Black Widow' in a theater in the '80s, my first thought was: This seems just like the great Noire novel 'The Eye of the Beholder' (1980) by Marc Behm. That book was made into a tolerable French movie in 1983, directed by Claude Miller; then an American-made remake in 2000 with the same title as the novel, starring Ewan Mcgregor.
I confess I could only bear 5 minutes of the Mcgregor version before hitting the remote. (Not your fault, Ewan!) The plots in 'Widow,' the novel, and the Mcgregor version are similar: a solitary detective (Winger's part) tails a female serial killer; the former getting ever more involved with his/her quarry as they traverse the landscape and time rolls by. It's an unusual detective plot that would need a very delicate director to make it work. Hasn't happened yet.
Two things I still remember of 'Widow': (1) Serial killer Theresa Russell's self-hating meltdown in her car, just perfect; and (2) the filmmakers' taking advantage of an actual erupting volcano in a Hawaiian scene. Alas, the volcano steals the scene.
I confess I could only bear 5 minutes of the Mcgregor version before hitting the remote. (Not your fault, Ewan!) The plots in 'Widow,' the novel, and the Mcgregor version are similar: a solitary detective (Winger's part) tails a female serial killer; the former getting ever more involved with his/her quarry as they traverse the landscape and time rolls by. It's an unusual detective plot that would need a very delicate director to make it work. Hasn't happened yet.
Two things I still remember of 'Widow': (1) Serial killer Theresa Russell's self-hating meltdown in her car, just perfect; and (2) the filmmakers' taking advantage of an actual erupting volcano in a Hawaiian scene. Alas, the volcano steals the scene.