(2 of 4)
The sex scenes in Body Heat are humid and tumid enough, but they are there to serve the symmetry of Kasdan's visual and narrative design. "Ned is caught in limbo, in a dream," Kasdan, 32, told TIME. "I wanted this film to have the intricate structure of a dream, the density of a good novel, and the texture of recognizable people in extraordinary circumstances." In his first film as writer-director (he was the co-author of The Empire Strikes Back and wrote the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark), Kasdan has succeeded handsomely. There is intricacy in the movements of his prowling camera, in the pairing of shots and situations from different parts of the film, in the gradual muting of the film's colors from flaming orange to blacks and whites as the lovers' passion turns to calculation. There is density in the plot construction, a maze that Ned must negotiate to save his life; Body Heat has more narrative drive, character congestion and sense of place than any original screenplay since Chinatown; yet it leaves room for some splendid young actors to breathe, to collaborate 5 in creating the film's texture.
I "I see an enormous logjam of talented actors out there," Kasdan says, "and precious few of them have good parts to chew on." Body Heat is full of meaty characters and pungent performances—Ted Danson as a tap-dancing prosecutor, J.A. Preston as a dogged detective, and especially Mickey Rourke as a savvy young ex-con who looks and acts as if he could be Ned's sleazier twin brother. Kathleen Turner's Matty mixes come-hither looks with a sultry, baritone voice. This is a creature of fire and ice, with no intermediate shadings of warmth or aloofness. Thanks largely to her presence, Body Heat is a film to be seen at a drive-in, on a heavy summer night, with someone you trust.