Indecent Proposal

Happily married and still very much in love, Childhood sweethearts David (Woody Harrelson) and Diana (Demi Moore) seem to have it all. However, with the recession and financial problems mounting, they head off to Las Vegas in order to gamble their way clear of debt. Then, after losing everything, they meet billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford) who offers them a million dollars for one night with Diana.

Would you let your other half sleep with someone else for a cool million? Well now, that is a question. Would it make a difference if that someone else was the still-cool Seventies stallion Redford? Well, that is a different question altogether. It might not have the most complicated plot in the world, but Indecent Proposal will undoutedly start debate...

With director Adrian Lyne at the helm, you kind of know what you are going to get. Granted, it's less raunchy than 9 1/2 Weeks and nowhere near as violent as Fatal Attraction (rabbit viewers, uncover your eyes), but the familiar notions of obsession and voyeurism are defintely in attendance. As for the trademark eroticism, though the million dollar night in question is wisely left off-screen, there's enough Moore flesh to get Demi fans excited.

Still, it's probably the most romantic picture Lyne has attempted. Fuelled by John Barry's stirring score which manages to exude heartbreak, reflection and the devastating emptiness of true loss (hey, the guy is good) there are plenty of complex emotions on show. Regret? Definitely. Impossible decisions? Consider the market cornered. And then, just when you think the love triangle can't get any sadder, Redford's gazzilionaire pulls out a tragic tale of his youth that wrenches at the heart strings.

If you were looking for a criticism, you could moan that the main trio all do things that limit how sympathetic they are. Diana almost persuades David to go along with the proposal, he then lets his wife sleep with another man and Gage essentially wrecks a happy home. However, these are just minor irritations as both Harrelson and Moore come across as flawed instead of amoral while Redford sells his role so magnetically that he never becomes the villain that nearly any other actor would have.

A million bucks. Your wife. What will it be? Still talked about to this day, Indecent Proposal is one movie that will cause plenty of ‘would-you or wouldn’t-you?’ debate.