The Woolrich Neo-Noir You Didn’t Know You Needed: ‘Original Sin’ Reviewed

As far as lies go, finding out someone is prettier or richer than they let on is far from the worst case scenario. On the excellent Britbox series Three Little Birds one of the characters uses a photo of Harry Belafonte to secure an arranged marriage. It’s smoothed over fairly fast considering, but it’s still a massive deception.

All that is to say, when Luis (Antonio Banderas) finds out the plain woman he agreed to marry off a photograph is actually Angelina Jolie he’s not that disappointed, anymore than Julia (Jolie) is when she learns Luis is wealthier than he wrote in his letters. Therein lies the problem, though, because, instead of focusing on the lie, Luis and Julia are quick to celebrate their good fortunes. The lie is what’s important in Michael Cristofer‘s Original Sin, and the first red flag to the relationship problems to come in this historical melodrama.

Watch the trailer for Original Sin and you’d be right to assume the film is a cheesy romance novel cover come to life – a bodice ripper starring two hot actors that’s all sex and no plot. And, while there aren’t that many sex scenes, the major one included is premium cable worthy explicit. Original Sin is much more of a neo-noir than its period setting would suggest, though, and has all the suspense of the best adult dramas, if one that seems to have been dismissed upon its initial release.

Adapted from a story by Cornell Woolrich (another good sign – other films adapted from Woolrich include Rear Window and The Bride Wore Black), Cristofer’s screenplay is extremely successful at selling the twists and turns and keeping viewers invested in these damaged characters and their passion for each other. This is a film that could’ve slid by solely on Banderas and Jolie’s onscreen chemistry, yet they’re as compelling apart as they are together.

Filmed in Mexico as a stand-in for Cuba, the location shooting shows in the diversity of the extras. Moving the action to Cuba (the original story was set in New Orleans) is one of the decisions Christofer goes over in his director’s commentary. While not newly recorded for this release, it’s chock full of information, like that Banderas had been wanting to star in an adaption of Waltz into Darkness since seeing François Truffaut‘s Mississippi Mermaid (also based on the same Woolrich story). Christofer also talks about his handling of the private investigator character (Thomas Jane) who starts raising concerns about Julia’s past. A music video of Gloria Estefan‘s “You Can’t Walk Away From Love” (which plays during the closing credits) is included as well.

For fans of neo-noir like Body Heat, The Hot Spot and Body Double, Original Sin is available on Blu-ray and DVD (both discs are included) starting July 22nd from Capelight Pictures. It’s mediabook packaging, which means in the center there’s an essay by UK writer Josh Bullin, who also seems to appreciate that Original Sin is a film ripe for reevaluation. Hopefully this release will help it build the audience it deserves.