The first discernible image is a column of smoke from a distant fire, billowing slowly upward against a floridly tinted night sky - the first line, heard before the speaker can be identified, is just as concise and suggestive: 'My God, it's hot!' After dropping these incendiary hints, 'Body Heat' proceeds to associate them with a case fo criminally destructive passion - the hothouse atmosphere becomes a stylistic precondition for the impulse to surrender.
The astute new murder melodrama 'Body Heat' is one of those rare movies that reinforce their themes with an insinuating, sustained tone.
