The Last Seduction

With its razor-sharp dialogue, erotic gamesmanship, and brilliantly ruthless central performance by Linda Fiorentino, The Last Seduction became one of the defining neo-noirs of the 1990s. Directed by John Dahl, the film revives the classic femme fatale for the post-Reagan era: smarter, colder, and more unapologetically manipulative than ever. Noir at its most merciless.

Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the profits and runs out on him. She stops in a small town en route to Chicago, where she ensnares her next conquest, insurance man Mike Swale (Peter Berg). After getting a job at his insurance company, Bridget convinces Mike to run a scam — but things take a deadly turn when she recruits him to help get rid of her husband.