For most of us, Hasidic Jewry is a closed world, so Sidney Lumet's window on to a warm, loving if totally tradition-bound community is more than welcome. Unfortunately, there's rather too much concentration on the Hasidic world and too little of the plot, leaving cop Emily Eden (Melanie Griffith) to make her final breathless deductions even as she's finally failing to seduce the Hasidic Ariel (Eric Thal) from his intended bride. There are a few good thrills, but a few titters too, as the miscast but gallant Griffith (in a role for which Debra Winger would have been better suited) pursues the murderer of a Hasidic diamond dealer. Andrzej Bartkowiak's photography makes an excellent contrast between the enclosed Hasidic world - browns and golds - and the bleak red-white-and-blue brightness of the outside world.


©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes