OK, you've got Nicole Kidman playing Suzanne Stone, a small-town New Hampshire girl with an obsessive ambition to be a national television news correspondent. She's got looks, energy, determination and a hole where her soul used to be. Perfect candidate for the job. Her husband (Matt Dillon) is loving but, y'kno, her ambition is getting in the way of their marriage and the marriage is getting in the way of her ambition. So she gets a bunch of kids from the local high school to bump him off. Sound familiar? Man, I wish I could remember the case that this seems to be inspired by or based upon. (For the record, the screenplay, written by Buck Henry, was based upon the book of the same name.)

Now, if you think I've given story away, well, I have and I haven't. The premise is no secret -- if you didn't catch on from the trailer, the first ten minutes of the movie fill you in pretty well on what happened. The story is told in flashbacks from interviews of the parties involved -- Suzanne's parents and in-laws, her employer, her teenage cohorts and Suzanne herself. How the story unfolds is part of the reason for watching. And the other part is just to see this creature called Suzanne in action.

Nicole Kidman is perfect in this part -- best thing I've ever seen her do. You know there's something wrong with her, but it's all the things that make her the perfect candidate to be extremely successful in television. You're drawn to her, you laugh at her. I'm not sure you ever really sympathize with her, but you do understand her as a reflection of our ambition/media-driven society.

Gus Van Sant directed TO DIE FOR and it was the mention of his name that piqued my interest in the film. Let me tell you, he did a great job. He nicely balances serious emotions with a darkly comic touch. There's neat little things he does here and there: example... Suzanne's husband leaves town on a business trip, kisses her goodbye; she goes into the living room, stretches while turning herself around. As she does so, the lighting changes from morning to dusk. The doorbell rings and Suzanne goes forth to meet the high school kids she's about to seduce. Also, the scene where she meets the press after her husband's body is discovered is perfect (you'll know what I mean when the Star Spangled Banner starts to play).

There's also a real picture-in-picture motif and structure to the film and that's really what this is all about. As Suzanne says, "In America, you're not anybody if you're not on television. And being on television makes you a better person... What's the point of doing something if no-one is watching?"

Other notes: Illeana Douglas plays Suzanne's sister-in-law and I am pleased to announce that this is the first feature film role I've seen her in in which she is not canabalized. (She was previously in CAPE FEAR and ALIVE.)

Overall: really good flick. If you see it you'll likely like it.

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