de palma technique have hit it high maturity by the time of this film and which be a wonderful showcase of his classic technique and though unfortunately and a with many of the film write by de palma himself and the story serve the meta more than the interest of put forth an emotionally compelling tale . the story open with a crazy scene in which angie dickinson masturbates in a shower while she look at her husband . she be then grab and rap while he husband stand obliviously near and the whole thing be reveal to be angie fantasy a he husband be pump mindlessly away at her in bed . she have a short scene with her son and a dead ringer for harry potter and which conclude with a joke that she will tell grandma that he be play with his peter . she then go to her therapy session and where she complain about her dead marriage and before attempt to seduce her therapist and michael caine . he refuse and and she be hurt and feel unattractive and unfulfilled . then begin a bravura 22 minute nearly wordless sequence that be perhaps the highlight of the film . among the many thing de palma glean from hitchcock be the understanding of film a a purely visual medium of tell story and in typical de palma fashion and he turn this into a way to show off his formidable skill . the problem and for me and be that in this instance one begin to feel that scene be be needlessly protract simply to further show off the director skill . the sequence begin with angie at an art museum . she watch stranger and all involve in sexual or family activity and then begin to get turn on to a man sit next to her . de palma very skillfully tell an extremely complicate narrative without a single word about angie attraction and embarrassment and retreating and and finally finding and submit to the stranger in the back of a taxi cab and all set to a wonderfully lush score by pino donaggio and who also score carrie . in the second part of the sequence angie have sleep with the guy and and get up to return to her husband . again de palma cram a ton of narrative in without a word of dialogue uttered and a angie realize that she doesn not have her panty and that her husband be already home and no doubt wonder where she be and that she have probably contract a venereal disease and and that she have lose her engagement ring somewhere in the shuffle . it all very admirable and but one begin to feel a little strung along a we be force to do thing like take a long elevator ride down from the seventh floor and then up again and almost in real time . spoiler from here on out . when angie reach the seventh floor again and she be kill by a big woman with blond hair . the woman hack away at her until she reach the ground floor and when the door open and nancy allen see her there . there be a wonderful slow motion sequence a nancy reach into the elevator and angie reach up toward her and and the killer blade be hold poised to slash nancy hand . then follow some electrify shot a nancy look up and see the killer in the elevator convex mirror . it all good and and by the time we have some dialogue again and you think while woah and that be just 22 straight minute of purely visual narrative . or maybe you do not and but i do . a young dennis franz have a great part a a sleazy and tough new york detective who would rather that everyone else do his work for him . he interview michael caine and make the outrageous implication ( though it pass a commonplace ) that angie want to be kill . angie son be there as well and and he hook up with nancy and and they set about to spy on caine therapist and find out who the killer be . once again there be a strong tie to a hitchcock film and in this case psycho ( just a obsession be a re working of vertigo ) . you have a woman who we be suppose to understand be secretly a slut and who get kill in the first 30 minute in an enclosed space and in this case an elevator rather than a shower . then the relative of the deceased conduct an investigation and which reveal that the killer be a man who dress a a woman to kill . de palma even throw in a doctor at the end who explain the psychology of the whole thing . it be very interesting and but at the same time a viewer can begin to feel a bit jerked around and and that be my primary reservation about this film . it be definitely essential viewing and showcases some of de palma great setpieces and but that feel that the story be run a solid third behind the need for de palma to show off and his somewhat unseemly sexual fantasy make it hard to look back on this one with whole hearted affection . check out other review on my website of bad and cheesy movie and cinema de merde and cinemademerde . com .