Make way for yet another ersatz neo-noir thriller, fraught with danger, romance, corruption and, in this case, a sloppy murder plot so transparent that any amateur gumshoe would see through it in ten minutes flat. The target is Meg Tilly, an unmarried heiress with a passion for boating; the hunter is Rob Lowe, a yachting pilot with a shadowy past. Unfortunately, the script leaves nothing to the imagination, generating a token measure of suspense by simply adding another plot twist at twenty-minute intervals. Lowe's motivations are thus constantly shifted in and out of doubt, but the actor isn't up to the challenge of investing his character with any ambiguity (leaving, as a result, a very pretty blank spot on the screen). Worse yet, the irony of the ending is spoiled by an element of chance (specifically, a strategically placed rat) too flimsy to support the heroic suspension of disbelief needed to make the film work.
Review of Masquerade
