‘Doctor, I am not paranoid…’
Brian De Palma is one of the most self-indulgent directors of all time. When he’s good (Carrie, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way) he’s very good, but when his more avant-grade impulses take over, his work can become messy (Raising Cain, Bonfire of the Vanities). With Dressed to Kill, De Palma makes no effort to curb his experimental urges but on this occasion, this pays off…
Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is a troubled woman who seeks solace in the arms of her stoic psychiatrist Doctor Elliott (Michael Caine). Following a string of murders by a mysterious blonde, Kate’s son Peter (Keith Gordon) and high-class call girl (Nancy Allen) get mixed up in the murders.
Dressed to Kill could never be made today. A trans killer is a trope that is not acceptable in today’s cinematic landscape. That being said, the actual issue itself is dealt with using tact and insight. In terms of casting, while Caine is the big name, and he is great here, De Palma favourite Nancy Allen elevates this from a good movie into a great one. Aside from her work with De Palma and in the Robocop franchise, Allen never really realised her potential as an actress, and this is a shame because she is genuinely great throughout Dressed to Kill. She was, in fact, castigated for her performance at the time but surely with the benefit of hindsight, her natural charisma cannot be denied.
What’s most striking about Dressed to Kill perhaps is that it is still shocking even more than 40 years after the fact. This is daring cinema, De Palma working at his very best with an excellent cast to back him up. Sure, it’s odd and idiosyncratic, but it is these eccentricities that make De Palma such a compelling and iconic director. He has earned his status as the natural successor to Hitchcock and a genuine auteur. He’s also the only filmmaker who would ever have the balls to rip off his own movie (check the final scene here and put it side by side with the iconic final scene from Carrie). Dressed to Kill is some of his very best work.