A Kiss Before Dying (released in theaters on April 26, 1991) introduces Jonathan Corliss (Matt Dillon), a handsome, ruthlessly ambitious working-class young man who is obsessed with acquiring wealth and power. He sets his sights on Dorothy Carlsson (Sean Young), the naive daughter of Thor Carlsson (Max von Sydow), a cold and immensely wealthy New York shipping tycoon.
When Dorothy unexpectedly becomes pregnant, threatening Jonathan’s master plan of being welcomed into the family fortune due to her father’s threat of disinheritance, Jonathan takes deadly action.
He orchestrates a meticulous plot, murdering Dorothy by pushing her off a high-rise building and staging it perfectly as a suicide.
Guided by director James Dearden, the narrative shifts forward as Jonathan smoothly transitions into his next phase of deception: reinventing his identity to seduce Dorothy’s grieving, identical twin sister, Ellen (also played by Young).
The plot thickens into a tense psychological game as Ellen refuses to believe her sister took her own life and launches her own private investigation into Dorothy’s final days.
Unaware that her charming new boyfriend is the killer, Ellen seeks assistance from a skeptical investigator named Dan Corelli (James Russo) and confides in her supportive mother (Diane Ladd).
Jonathan works frantically behind the scenes to eliminate anyone who can link him to his past life, including a suspicious former classmate.
The suspense reaches a boiling point when Ellen pieces together the horrifying truth about her new lover’s real identity, culminating in a dangerous, high-stakes confrontation at the Carlsson family’s massive industrial copper refinery, where Jonathan’s deadly web of lies finally catches up to him.
Dearden crafts a visually polished thriller that embraces the glossy, high-contrast aesthetic of early 1990s neo-noir.
Dillon delivers a chillingly charismatic performance, playing the sociopathic Jonathan with a calculated, reptilian charm that makes him a formidable villain.
Young tackles the dual role with great dedication, successfully differentiating the tragic vulnerability of Dorothy from the fierce, intellectual determination of Ellen.
Ben Browder, Adam Horovitz, and Rory Cochrane round out the supporting cast.
Sean Young and Matt Dillon in A Kiss Before Dying (Photo/Universal Pictures)
Reception for A Kiss Before Dying
A Kiss Before Dying grossed $4.3 million on its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Oscar, which earned $5.1 million and just ahead of Toy Soldiers, which bowed with $4.2 million.
The film would gross $15.4 million in its theatrical run.
Roger Ebert gave A Kiss Before Dying three out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
The legacy of A Kiss Before Dying legacy lies position as a quintessential artifact of the early-1990s erotic and psychological thriller boom, a wave popularized by films like Dead Again and Basic Instinct.
It is discussed among cinephiles for its bold, double-casting of Young, a creative decision that added a surreal, almost Hitchcockian layer of identity confusion to the narrative.
Based on Ira Levin’s celebrated novel, this adaptation modernizes the classic mid-century crime story into a sleek exploration of corporate greed and sociopathic social climbing.
A Kiss Before Dying remains a cult favorite, celebrated for its striking cinematography, its suspenseful, slow-burn pacing, and its unapologetically dark look at the deadly lengths an individual will go to achieve the American dream.
