Original Sin

Successful coffee merchant Luis Vargas sends away for a kind-hearted, childbearing mail-order bride, but receives a lustful, money-grubbing con artist instead in this adaptation of Cornell Woolrich's erotic-thriller novel. Antonio Banderas plays the Cuban entrepreneur who quickly falls prey to the sex trap set by his conniving new wife. Angelina Jolie plays the imposter who repeatedly dupes her gullible husband with the help of her overbearing maniacal secret lover. Despite the compelling performances and the stunning costumes and set designs, Vargas' overwhelming naïveté, the nearly pornographic love scenes and the eccentric plot that borders convolution with its excessive twists and turns leave this film noir a definite cinematic sin, though one to enjoy.