Movie Review: Sliver (1993)

Genre: Erotic Thriller  

Director: Phillip Noyce  

Starring: Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Martin Landau  
Running Time: 107 minutes  

Synopsis: In New York City, book editor Carly Norris (Sharon Stone) is recovering from a failed marriage. She moves into an apartment in the "Sliver" building, and learns that the previous occupant died after falling from the balcony. Carly meets other tenants including fitness fan Zeke (William Baldwin), famous author Jack (Tom Berenger), model Vida (Polly Walker), and a kindly older man. With all the apartments under secret surveillance, both Zeke and Jack pursue a relationship with Carly, leading to jealousy and murder.

What Works Well: Following up on her breakout success in Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone projects both vulnerability and strength as a building newcomer uncovering sordid secrets and willing to reignite her seductive tendencies. The voyeuristic obsession with snooping on ordinary people's lives turns the Rear Window premise inwards as prescient commentary on a forthcoming privacy-free society. 

What Does Not Work As Well: With only two viable suspects, director Phillip Noyce fails to generate any suspense, the mood further undermined by one-dimensional performances from William Baldwin and Tom Berenger. Zeke is immediately creepy and Jack is proudly boorish, crippling any investment in the outcome and raising serious questions about Carly's judgement. The shallow character motivations are matched by incompetent police work, and the dull Joe Eszterhas script is incapable of exploiting the surveillance theme implications.

Key Quote:

Zeke (to Carly): Real life, Carly. It's better than any book. Better than any movie. It's a soap opera. It's real life. It's a tragedy, it's funny, it's sad, it's unpredictable.

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