She mates and she kills. No man can resist her. Only one woman can stop her. -Tagline

A tall/blonde/early 30s woman, Catharine Petersen (Theresa Russell), marries older (50-something) millionaires, waits until they’ve changed their wills (to leave all of their money to her), and murders them using clever methods. With each relationship, Catharine changes her appearance (hair/makeup/clothes) and personality to suit the man. Alexandra Barnes (Debra Winger) is a DOJ data analyst who finds links btwn several mysterious deaths. The more she learns of this woman, the more Alex becomes fascinated; she does field work on her own time (her co-workers and supervisor are V skeptical). Taking a wild chance, Alex flies to Hawaii to track the “black widow” (on her own)!

This (lesser known) neo noir was released about 6 mos. prior to the hit Fatal Attraction (1987). The director (Bob Rafelson) hadn’t worked on a movie since The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981); I’m NOT a fan of that remake (see the original B&W ver. instead). This movie could be a BIT shorter; there are also odd editing choices (some critics called it “choppy”). The dialogue is pretty good; the screenplay is by Ron Bass (Rain Man; My Best Friend’s Wedding). Winger (who had prior success w/ An Officer and a Gentleman and Terms of Endearment) was given the choice of the 2 co-leads; she chose Alex, b/c she didn’t understand why Catharine kills. One of the men in the poker game is David Mamet (in his 1st film); he’s best known as a director. Dennis Hopper has a small role (5 mins.) in the 1st act. We also see theater/movie veterans (Lois Smith and James Hong) in supporting roles.

Black Widow gives us a look into the (pre-internet) world of investigations; there was no facial recognition tech yet. Alex uses a slide projector to examine newspaper photos. Catharine borrows a VCR player (which is quite large) from the fancy Seattle hotel where she’s staying to watch a videotape. (I don’t think my family had a VCR then; we’d immigrated to the US in the Fall of 1986.) There is a LOT that is unsaid; there is “erotic tension” (as one astute reviewer said) btwn. the two women. Does Alex envy Catharine (who can get any man she wants)? Are the women attracted to each other? Early in the story, Alex shut down advances (gently) from her “right hand” (D.W. Moffett); there is also concern from her boss (Terry O’Quinn) who tells her (explicitly) to get a man. As Roger Ebert (who didn’t recommend it) said: “The acting is good. I expected more from this movie.” Gene Siskel liked it a LOT; he said: “Alex realized that Catharine could do something that she couldn’t- love!”