Black Widow (1987)

In director Bob Rafelson's R-rated neo-noir dramatic psychological crime-thriller based upon Ronald Bass' first original screenplay, two strong women engaged in a cat-and-mouse game to outsmart each other - a federal agent and a serial "black widow" killer (or Lucretia Borgia, femme fatale). The mostly-forgotten film's tagline - uniting sex and death - described the plodding yet effective plot, similar in some ways to Body Heat (1981):

Every man she marries is mysteriously murdered. Finally, one woman has uncovered the truth. But proving it could be fatal.

The film's budget of $10.5 million was offset by gross revenues of $25.1 million.

The two females faced off in Hawaii after three suspicious and similar criminal deaths (off-screen) were discovered in New York, Texas and Seattle. It was a strange coincidence that the earliest victims had died suddenly in their sleep, allegedly from a rare respiratory disorder ("Ondine's Curse"). To catch and track her elusive prey, the criminal investigator for the Department of Justice followed her suspect further west to the Big Island of Hawaii (during a sex-tinged volcanic eruption), where the 'black widow' continued her modus operandi of murder (usually via a syringe of poison to lace drinks). The investigator realized that she had to be more clever than her suspect: "You want to catch her, you gotta think like she thinks" - she had to mirror her suspect (with better grooming, clothing and a sexual awakening), and obsessively immerse herself into the identity of the equally-obsessive 'black widow' killer to entrap her. However, the investigator's 'doubling' of her target suspect might also put her in danger - she also might become a lesbian romantic target that was stalked, mated with, and then killed.

The cinematography by Conrad Hall, and music by Michael Small enhanced the story, although the plotline was fairly predictable with similar motives and methods for each off-screen death. The alluring seductress married and then surreptitiously murdered her wealthy millionaire husbands to obtain and inherit their fortunes, by significantly altering her identity and appearance. There was no suspense about the identity of the female serial killer, and the only mystery was how she might be caught. Some sexual tension was created when both women fell for the same male, and when the two female characters were simultaneously romantically attuned to each other.

The 'black widow' was eventually revealed to be guilty through dogged efforts by the obsessed and determined federal agent (who at one point became friends with her lethal adversary, learning mouth-to-mouth resuscitation during a scuba lesson, and sharing a slightly hostile yet passionate kiss).

The film's two principal characters, the 'black widow's' deceased husbands and relatives were somewhat difficult to follow (in terms of their names, locales and motives):

The chameleon-like "Black Widow":

1. Catharine Petersen (Theresa Russell), in Manhattan, NY, (1) Married to wealthy publisher Sam Petersen, brother of Sara Petersen (Lois Smith), who died in his sleep due to poisoned brandy (off-screen)
2. Marielle Dumer (Theresa Russell), in Dallas, TX, (2) Married to Dallas toy manufacturer Ben Dumer (Dennis Hopper), brother of Etta (Diane Ladd), who was also poisoned with brandy (off-screen)
3. Margaret Dodd (Theresa Russell), in Seattle, WA, (3) Married to wealthy museum curator William McCorey (Nicol Williamson), the Chairman of the Native American Museum Board, who died due to his deadly allergy to penicillin mixed in his toothpaste (off-screen)
4. Rennie Walker (Theresa Russell), in Hawaii (Big Island), (4) Married to French luxury hotel owner Paul Nuytten (Sami Frey); PLOT TWIST: he faked his own death (attempted poisoning with brandy)

The 'Black Widow's' nemesis:

1. Alexandra "Alex" Barnes (Debra Winger), a 30 year old working in Washington, DC for six years in the Justice Department's Special Task Force as a Data Analyst
2. Jessica "Jessie" Bates (Debra Winger), in Hawaii (Big Island), who during her investigation into the "Black Widow" (Rennie), was set up for husband # 4's death (faked) and then framed and jailed

[Historical Note: The film was reportedly based upon a true-life "Black Widow" - a manipulative Dallas socialite named Sandra Bridewell in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Three of her rich and successful husbands died (a 'suicidal' gunshot of Dallas dentist David Stegall in 1975, lymphoma cancer of hotel developer Bobby Bridewell in 1982 - and also the 'suicide'-murder of the treating cancer doctor's wife Betsy Bagwell in a car parked at an airport, and a third unsolved homicide of Alan Rehrig in Oklahoma in 1985) - and she was the last known contact of all three decedents. She was finally brought to justice in 2007 in North Carolina after facing federal charges of identity theft, fraud, mail theft and Social Security fraud, but due to a plea bargain in 2008, she served only two years in federal prison, two years of supervision, and a $250,000 fine, plus some restitution payments.]

• during the opening titles credits, widowed Catharine Petersen's (Theresa Russell) face was viewed in an intense closeup as she adjusted her makeup - seen in a split-screen (symbolizing her split personality), before donning dark sunglasses and disembarking from a private jet to board a helicopter; she was flown to an awaiting limousine to join her comforting and grieving sister-in-law Sara Petersen (Lois Smith) after the death of Catharine's wealthy NYC publisher-husband Sam Petersen in his sleep; the two were driven together to the Petersen residence
• in the Petersen apartment's study, to cover up her crime, Catharine picked up a glass brandy decanter and impassively poured its contents down the drain in the bathroom sink and rinsed it clean; she laid on the bed and shed tears
• a year later in Washington DC, Justice Department Task Force data analyst Alexandra "Alex" Barnes (Debra Winger) hurriedly rushed into her work area, and spoke to her skeptical co-worker-assistant and friend Michael (D. W. Moffatt); the work-obsessed, repressed plain-Jane Alex was excited about his discovery of the deaths of two healthy and wealthy men (a hit man-capo for the Marangano gang, and NY publisher Sam Petersen) about a year earlier who coincidentally both died (4 days apart) in their sleep of a rare respiratory condition (Ondine's Curse); it was suspicious to her that at 60 years of age, Petersen had died after only four months of marriage to his much younger 31 year-old wife Catharine; Alex's boss Bruce (Terry O'Quinn) also felt that she was off-the-track: "Let go of this Marangano thing. People die in their sleep, Alex, even dons"
• sometime later in the office of 53 year-old Dallas, TX toy manufacturer Ben Dumer (Dennis Hopper), head of The Texas Club, he was briefly visited for a luncheon date by his newly-wed, southern-accented red-haired 28 year-old wife Marielle Dumer (also Theresa Russell); afterwards, her next stop was her bank's safe-deposit box where in a private room, she took an unopened bottle of brandy from her purse; she removed jewelry and stacks of cash from the box and a small case with a hypodermic syringe inside with a small vial of clear liquid; she injected the liquid from the needle into the cork of the bottle of brandy; upon her return home, as she packed for a planned 5-day trip, she reminded Ben of a fresh bottle of brandy in the liquor cabinet
• immediately after, the next scene was Dumer's funeral procession at the cemetery; Marielle met with Ben's threatening sister Etta (Diane Ladd) in a lawyer's office; Etta was contesting her brother's "valid" will that had recently been altered two months earlier to give Marielle her husband's entire estate; Marielle quieted Etta's concerns with a "small gift" of $500,000 dollars ("Something in the mid-six figures")
• Alex was reprimanded for bringing an unauthorized gun in her purse to work; she explained to her boss how she was visiting a target range and attempting to get certified to qualify as a field agent; after her friend Michael attempted to ask Alex out for a dinner date, she declined: "I don't think it's a good idea. We work together," but then after he told her details about another Ondine's Curse victim 10 days earlier (the toy manufacturer Dumer in Dallas), she became excitedly intrigued and searched with Michael on her computer; Alex noted that both men married very young women a few months before they died, and both wives were out of town when the deaths occurred: ("both older guys, very rich, each married to a young gal for a couple of months"); she asked him to find photos of the men's suspect-wives: ("Not the men, the wives!")
• a third incarnation or alias of Catharine appeared in Seattle, WA - a conservatively-dressed, studious-looking, dark-haired brunette with black-framed glasses named Margaret Dodd (also Theresa Russell) - a self-proclaimed "anthropologist" and researcher; in a downtown bookstore, Margaret prepared for her next husband-target by asking the clerk to help locate guidebooks on Seattle, Japanese cooking, rare coins and indigenous Northwest Native American Tribes (including totem poles); the clerk jokingly asked: "What are you, cramming for a game show?"
• in her apartment, Alex projected slides from two carousels onto her living room wall to study the photos that Michael had unearthed in greater detail; she determined - by comparing overlapped pictures of the two wives of the deceased husbands (Petersen and Dumer) - that their facial features were remarkably similar (and they were probably the same person), except for their hairstyles; she also realized that the female often seemed to be avoiding the camera by turning away; Alex also experimented with altering her own appearance and identity (by adjusting her hairstyle) in front of her bathroom mirror

"Alex" Obsessively Studying Enlarged Projected Photos	Catharine Petersen with Husband Sam Petersen
Marielle Dumer with Husband Ben Dumer	Double-Exposed Projections to Compare Facial Features

• at the same time in her Seattle hotel room, the new incarnation (Margaret) was studying photos and her books on Northwest totem poles, antique coins, and other subjects; she also watched a VHS tape of a film from 1914 (Edward S. Curtis' silent film documentary "In the Land of the Headhunters") on the "War Canoe" ritual of the Native American Kwakiutl people on the Northwest Coast; she held up a newspaper article: "COIN SALE BENEFITS MUSEUM"
• after visiting the museum's displays, Margaret spoke to Irene (Rutanya Alda), one of the museum's board members and suggested a "generous offer" - but she was rejected: "This museum does not sell places on its board"; Margaret decided to boldly and directly approach William McCorey (Nicol Williamson), the Chairman of the Native American Museum Board; she was next seen addressing the board with contrary but reasoned views to impress McCorey: ("We need to compare all the tribes. We study their art to learn about them. We study them to understand ourselves")
• meanwhile, Alex brought her conclusions and findings about the photos to her skeptical boss Bruce, arguing that the oft-widowed female in the pictures was a deadly, metamorphizing gold-digger: ("She doesn't want pictures. She knows the camera's there. She turns away, I can tell...It's the way she stands...It's makeup, hair, attitude"), but the boss didn't buy her premise: ("The whole m.o., a complex series of seductions and murders - that's not something you see a woman do"); Alex debated with him: "Oh really! Which part you figure a woman isn't up to? The seduction or the murder?"
• then, Alex begged to be taken off desk-duty and given a field assignment after six frustrating years of working in "this goddamned government office with green windows"; Bruce demeaned Alex for only seeking "excitement" in her job, and mentioned how she hadn't had a romantic date in years: ("You're not a happy person. And you deserve to be, that's all"); after Alex became outraged by his insinuations, she urged: "Make me happy"; Bruce was reluctantly forced to give in and let her research the case further in her spare time
• in an attempt to track relatives of murder victims, Alex visited with and interviewed Catharine's grieving sister-in-law Sara Petersen in NYC, who defended her sister's devotion to her husband; it was reported that Catharine was only heard from during the first month; Sara was also surprised to learn from Alex that Catharine's attorney asked for the Petersen's estate assets to be converted into cash and deposited into a Swiss bank account: ("She came out of thin air, and she vanished back into thin air...It's odd. I find it odd. Sam Petersen is gone. So is all of his property, his money")
• back in Seattle, Margaret was warming up to McCorey in his home during afternoon tea with discussions of coins and other interests of his, and he admitted he was initially skeptical of her: "You seem almost too good to be true"; he had researched her background to check up on her and discovered she was an anthropology major from Mount Holyoke: "We're a lot alike"; she responded: "We like Italy, and we like coins. And we like to live alone"; McCorey confessed that he was a life-long wealthy bachelor and he spoke introspectively about never marrying, with idiosyncracies that made him a metaphoric "porcupine" with bristles; Margaret joked that porcupines made love "very carefully"
• in Dallas, TX, Alex also spoke with Ben Dumer's sister Etta while she was in a tanning bed in a fitness club-salon; Etta expressed how she was suspicious of "Marielle's" lack of personal history in her hometown of Charleston: ("There was nothing at all. No family, not even a trace"), but then admitted she had accepted a gift of a half a million dollars to avoid a public scandal; then, she sat up and asked Alex: "You're looking a little peaked, my dear, can I buy you a tan?"
• Margaret and William took a ferry ride together, and afterwards, he drove them to his isolated, rustic and peaceful lakeside cabin in the woods where he had been coming since he was 5 years old: ("Always promised myself I'd live here someday"); Margaret was able to coax William into inviting her into his life, when she asked: "Why don't you?" -- and he answered: "Why don't we?"; in the next scene that evening while drinking wine and bathed in a reddish glow, they were passionately making love in front of a roaring fire; he admitted his fatal flaw to her when he revealed his emergency response medical ID necklace-chain: "Medic alert. I'm allergic to penicillin"
• during a late-night poker game (with Alex the only female amongst her male co-workers and boss), Alex daringly and defiantly kept betting against Herb (writer David Mamet) when it was obvious he wasn't bluffing, and she recklessly lost; afterwards, she informed Bruce about research into her "Borgia lady" - and that she had narrowed her search to six women; she insisted that she had to "check them out," and he allowed her to pursue her suspects - first to the city of Seattle
• Alex traveled to Seattle to investigate further, and pursued and observed her target - Margaret - on the ferry; in her doctor's office during an examination, Margaret complained of recurring tonsillitis due to Seattle's weather, and was prescribed penicillin for treatment; in the museum's office, Alex posed as Mrs. Tally - a Post Intelligencer reporter, and briefly spoke with Irene; William answered a phone call asking for Margaret (addressed as "Mrs. McCorey" - she had married in the interim!) and volunteered to speak to her in his wife's absence; William quickly determined that Alex was not a Post reporter, and forced her to admit that instead - she was just "starting out" as a freelance reporter writing a story about "powerful women" in the workforce at the museum; the understanding William sympathized with Alex's occupational predicament: ("I never had to prove myself like that. It must be hard for you"), and promised to have his wife ("a very private person") contact Alex at her downtown Hilton hotel accommodations

Margaret Asking For a Penicillin Prescription

Alex Interviewing McCorey in the Museum

Doubting Seattle Detective Ricci (Leo Rossi)

• in the meantime, Alex also spoke to Detective Ricci (Leo Rossi) in the Seattle Police Department who doubted her extensive "evidence" and called her a "dingbat Fed" with unproven assumptions about the devious murderous wife of the wealthy museum director; he dismissively denounced her: ("If that's what the Justice Department calls evidence these days, then that is the scariest part of this whole conversation"), although she insisted: "The thing is, I know I'm right"
• in the remote McCorey cabin with his wife, William mentioned the inquisitive young "very sweet" female reporter asking about her earlier in the day; Margaret became visibly uneasy and immediately traced the reporter from the Hilton to her new accommodations at the Inn at the Market at 86 Pine Street; parked in a car outside the Inn, Alex watched as the disturbed and panicky Margaret pulled up in her car, went in, and stormed back out; with obvious rage and frustration, she pounded her forehead against her steering wheel; she reached for travel brochures in her glove compartment - and paused on the one for Hawaii before driving off; Alex realized that "Margaret" had accepted her 'bait' and was her guilty husband-killer
• the next day in the cabin's bathroom, Margaret (wearing latex gloves) mixed the contents of a penicillin capsule in a dollop of Lusterbrite toothpaste on a hand-mirror before stuffing the blended mixture back into the newly-opened tube; moments later, she politely told William that she probably shouldn't be part of an upcoming board meeting ("There'll just be conflict and resentment") due to the "family business"
• shortly later, Alex returned to Detective Ricci's office questioning and blaming him for ignoring her warnings about McCorey's suspicious wife, now that he had died of a "good old-fashioned heart attack" without anything unusual found after an autopsy; Alex reminded that McCorey might have been allergic to something: ("Anaphylactic shock looks like cardiac arrest. Was he allergic to something?"); Mrs. McCorey had also left town without a forwarding address, but Ricci continued to reject any responsibility or accept blame
• in a discussion back in Washington DC with her boss Bruce, the devastated Alex felt regretful and guilty that she hadn't warned Mr. McCorey when she had the chance about his potentially-dangerous wife, although alerting him would have blown the case Alex had against her: ("I should have told him...he would have had a chance. I didn't give him a chance"); Alex decided to quit her job after six years with the department to chase what Bruce called a "phantom"; as she was leaving the office, Michael (off-screen) informed Alex of Margaret's purchase of an airline ticket to Hawaii at a ticket counter in Seattle
• after she had sold all of her belongings and was about to leave, Bruce visited Alex in her emptied-out apartment and presented her with a return airline ticket back to Washington; he also advised: "Don't underestimate this woman," and Alex responded with one of her strategies: "She's not about guns. You want to catch her, you gotta think like she thinks, I think"; he also suggested some additional concerns: "All I know is that she's obsessed with killing and you're obsessed with her. What worries me is you might be as wacky as she is"; she replied to him: "I'll be back with a tan"
• Alex arrived on a United Airlines DC-8 jet at the Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (Big Island) airport, and drove in a rented car to her hotel (was it the Royal Kona Resort Hotel in town, or the Mauna Lani Resort Hotel up the coast where she soon would meet her suspect?); on her hotel lanai, Alex burned her old luggage tags to destroy evidence of her real name (and address)

Kona Airport	Which hotel was this?	On the Hotel's Lanai
Alex's Arrival on the Big Island of Hawaii

• at the same time on another part of the island, the newly-aliased long-haired blonde Rennie Walker (also Theresa Russell), an outdoorsy and athletic-looking young female, hiked to a lookout promontory to view the erupting Kilauea volcano with her newest French boyfriend Paul Nuytten (Sami Frey), a luxury hotel developer; he extolled the unique beauty of the place that would be perfect for another of his elite hotel buildings overlooking the active crater: ("We are standing at the newest place on this planet. It's like nowhere on Earth. I love this place! Everybody comes to Hawaii for the sand, for the beach but to put a hotel here, it would cost a fortune")
• an impatient and frustrated Alex met in a run-down Hilo office building with Asian private investigator Mr. H. Shin (James Hong) that she had hired to help find her "black widow"; after paying him $600 for four weeks of sleuthing, he had unearthed nothing, and she refused to pay him any additional "incentive bonus"
• a scuba training session was being held at the outdoor pool of the Mauna Lani Resort Hotel on the western coast of the Big Island, where Rennie was staying; the dive instructor Shelley (Mary Woronov) was teaching how two divers could use one regulator in an emergency; in the pool, Alex (who introduced herself as Jessica Bates - adopting her suspect's technique of using pseudonyms) intervened and 'saved' Rennie from being paired up with a coughing partner; on the lawn, the two also practiced sharing breaths together (and literally kissed each other although it wasn't romantic) and then chatted over drinks at the hotel's beach before retreating to Rennie's hotel room; there, as Alex was noticing snapshots of Rennie's handsome 'boyfriend' Paul Nuytten on her table, Rennie invited her to Paul's party as her guest that evening at his home; Rennie loaned one of her dresses to Alex, and took her to the hotel hairdresser before they arrived in style at the outdoor pool party

At the Mauna Lani Resort Hotel (Big Island): Two Aliases Meeting Up
Alex ("Jessica Bates") and Rennie - Paired Up for a Scuba Lesson in the Pool	Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation (Sharing Breaths) Lesson (and 'Kiss of Life') on the Lawn of the Hotel
Rennie Walker (Theresa Russell)	Alex's Alias - Jessica Bates (Debra Winger)

• at the party (held at a mansion in Puako), Paul was introduced to "Jessica" (who had begun to adopt Rennie's sexual powers) and immediately flirted with her and asked her for a dance, but she politely declined; Alex watched the stand-offish romantic interaction between Rennie and Paul as he asked her to stay the night, but she delicately and strategically put him off: "You have your little phone book, lots of numbers. Why do we keep having this conversation?"; he insisted: "It's you. It's you I want," but she debated with him: "All you want is the woman you haven't slept with. That's not the same as wanting me," although she asked for a passionate kiss before leaving
• Rennie and "Jessica" began to hang out together - the next day while attending an open-air fish market, Rennie became suspicious after observing an unusual conversation between a nervous Mr. Shin and "Jessica" during another of his shakedown attempts; later to check up on things, the widowed "Rennie" phoned sister-in-law Sara Petersen to ask if a female reporter had asked her any questions; Sara confirmed: "Yes, there was a young woman by here about six months ago. But she said she was from the federal government"; a visibly-upset "Rennie" reacted by flopping onto her sofa, and punching a pillow placed on her stomach and emitting a primal scream
• at Kalapana's (Kaimu) Black Sand Beach on the southeastern side of the island near Pahoa (in the Puna district), Rennie and Jessica (outfitted with scuba gear) went diving off the deserted coast [Note: This black sand beach was completely destroyed when covered in lava only a few years later during a Kilauea eruption in 1990]; during their dive, they became separated and Jessica realized that her oxygen tank was almost empty (not half-filled); after an initial struggle with Rennie who was nearby, Jessica was rescued by Rennie's shared regulator as they resurfaced (following the instructions they had earlier learned by the pool); afterwards on the beach, Jessica implied that Rennie had possibly (intentionally) taunted and endangered her to scare her, or could have easily turned her back and ignored her plight

Rennie and Jessica - Scuba-Diving Venture Off a Black Sand Beach

• however, the two continued to be friends, and later while lounging on a deserted beach elsewhere, Rennie openly admitted that she had been married multiple times ("Lots!"), and had amassed her riches when her wealthy husbands died: (Rennie: "Lots. That's how I got rich," Jessica: "Once wasn't enough to get rich?", Rennie explained how her job was to make herself desirable: "Rich is hard. You never really figure you're quite there.... Well, I used to think of it as my job. Making myself appealing. I was a professional. I-I loved every one of them. Deeply. Honestly. It wouldn't have worked any other way"; then she suggested that Jessica pursue Paul: "Paul. You like him. Go for it. He wants you to. He needs somebody now, who knows how to commit"; as part of a set-up, she was offering her own boyfriend to Jessica with the excuse that she wasn't able to commit to him quite yet
• at the last minute, during the threesome's lunch at Paul's home, Rennie claimed she had a headache and backed out of an afternoon trip with them and returned to her hotel; before leaving, she encouraged Paul to "have a nice time" with Jessica, affording her an opportunity to be with the attractive male all by herself; Paul took her for a vehicle-excursion around the island; during a short walk in a lush shaded area, Paul asked why Jessica ("attractive, intelligent, very, very strong...provocative") wasn't yet married; Jessica told him: "Bad timing," and explained how she didn't want to be compared with Rennie: ("I can't compete with her"), and he assured her: "There is no necessity"; she demanded an honest relationship with him: ("I have to know whatever this is, is something honest and just for me"), and he requested: "Look at me, decide"; after looking into each other's eyes, Jessica decided to make love to him

Jessica Praised by Paul As Attractive and Provocative
	Paul to Jessica: "Look at me, decide"

• the same afternoon, Rennie broke into Jessica's hotel room to rummage through her belongings to try and uncover her possibly hidden identity; she found some monogrammed handkerchiefs with the initials JB; then she drove to Hilo to meet with Mr. Shin in his office, and hired him to investigate "Jessica" whom she claimed was stealing away her fiancee Paul; she enticed and pressured Shin to accept her offer with a thick envelope of cash: "Mr. Shin, I'll tell you two things about me: I'm very rich and I'm very wealthy"; shortly later, Shin must have accepted her offer - he took incriminating photos of Jessica and Paul kissing on her hotel balcony and spending the night together
• the next night, realizing that she had romantic competition from Jessica, and exhibiting the pretense that she was upset, Rennie visited Paul's home; he thought she had purposely encouraged him to be with Jessica ("I thought it was what you wanted"); to entice him to switch allegiances and to be with her, she asked for a drink; when he returned, he discovered her naked in his pool and asking him to join her; startled, he asked: "Why tonight after all this time?", and Rennie responded: "I think we've waited long enough"

Paul to Rennie: "I thought it was what you wanted"
	Rennie Swimming Naked with Paul in His Pool

• shortly later, Paul visited with Jessica in her hotel room with news that he and Rennie had decided to get married, and then stated: "I want you to be okay with this"; Jessica reacted calmly, although she was obviously hurt by the news; after the wedding, a reception was held at Paul's home, where Jessica accused Rennie of manipulating Paul's emotions to get him to commit to her: (Jessica: "Woman in love...I helped you get here, didn't I? When you put us together, it made him want you more. So I guess you could say my wedding gift was the groom"): Jessica also presented Rennie with a wrapped-up boxed gift - a black widow spider brooch; Rennie was slightly taken aback but explained her own character: "Black widow. She mates and she kills. Your question is, does she love? It's impossible to answer that unless you live in her world. It's such an intriguing gift. Makes me wish I had more to share with you. Truth is, I'm sorry it's over"; Jessica sternly retorted: "The truth is, it's not over yet"; Rennie answered: "Till then" - and then firmly and swiftly grabbed Jessica by the neck and pulled her over for a strong abusive and taunting kiss on the lips before abruptly leaving - a signal that Rennie would be challenging her and retaliating

Newlywed Rennie At the Wedding Reception

Jessica's Wedding Gift For Rennie

Black Widow Spider Brooch

• after arriving unexpectedly in Shin's PI office, Rennie (wearing gloves) asked for the incriminating photos (of Jessica and Paul together) that she had ordered from him, and then while holding him at gunpoint, she counted down from 5 to 1: ("You have a choice, Mr. Shin. You can die or you can die happy"); she forced him to agree to shoot himself up with a lethal dose of heroin, with the paraphenalia he had in one of his desk drawers [Note: earlier in the film, she had walked in on him and surprised him as he was coming out of his bathroom and rolling down his left arm's sleeve, realizing that he was drug-addicted]; during the routine investigation into Shin's death as an OD, the photos were found; Jessica arrived to speak to Detective (Danny Kamekona) in charge at the scene - she asked: "Now, who would you be?"
• shortly later, during Rennie's abruptly-announced trip back to San Francisco (her usual MO of being absent during a husband's murder), Jessica spoke with Paul in her hotel room (now with a full-sized kitchen) [Note: The film's continuity regarding Alex's Big Island hotel room was very unclear (was it the same one throughout the entire film that later seemed to grow in size and was regarded as her apartment with a full kitchen)?] Jessica told him of her true identity as Alex Barnes - an investigator for the Justice Dept.; she urgently warned him of impending danger from his new 'black widow' wife who had coldly and routinely killed her three previous wealthy husbands: ("She killed all of them. She poisoned them"); to counter her accusations, the skeptical Paul told how "Rennie" (who had convinced him that she was independently wealthy) had already urged them to amend their wills so that in the event of either one's death, the wealth would be directed to the Cancer Foundation - "and nothing to each other - it was her idea"; Alex was perplexed and confused by Paul's admission; he questioned whether her motive was "jealousy"
• at the Kona Airport, the Detective watched as an Aloha Airlines plane unloaded and "Rennie" walked out of the airport; in Paul's home, the Detective informed her of her husband's death the previous night in his sleep; he also explained how her acquaintance "Jessica Bates" was actually a federal agent named Barnes who believed that Rennie had poisoned-murdered her husband Mr. Nuytten; Paul's home as well as Alex's hotel room/apartment were searched by the police
• Rennie was brought to the Detective's police station office and informed that a delayed-action toxic compound was found in Miss Barnes' hotel/apartment - implicating her as Paul's killer due to her jealousy over their recent marriage; the police also had compromising photos of "Jessica" and Paul kissing each other on her balcony - pictures taken by the Asian PI that Rennie had hired; the PI was also found dead of an accidental heroin overdose; Alex/"Jessica" was arrested by the police - and brought to the police station - regarded as a suspect possibly for two murders
• in a conference session with representatives of the Cancer Foundation, it was revealed to Rennie that the legal residence of her husband was not Hawaii but Florida; and according to a Florida statute: "Any bequest to charity in a will executed within six months of death can be invalidated by the spouse"; Rennie forthrightly announced that she would be modifying the will and invalidating her gift to the Foundation due to reservations she had: "Shortly before his death, Mr. Foster, my husband expressed reservations about your organization. Profound reservations"
• just before leaving the islands for a long trip, the well-dressed Rennie entered a waiting room within the County Courthouse to have a few final words with jump-suited "Alex" seated behind a chain-link fence barrier; it appeared that Rennie had developed feelings for "Alex" after all; Rennie explained how she thought that the 'obsessed' federal agent had failed to catch her, and killed Paul to frame her:
  • Rennie: They don't seem to think your only motive was jealousy. Not of Paul, anyway. They seem to think your obsession was with me. They think you started out as an ambitious federal agent and you became obsessed by this phantom. And then you chased her and you chased her, and when you thought you'd never be quick enough to catch her....
    Alex: I killed him to frame you. (Long pause) How did you manage it? What, did you leave town and sneak back? Did you use the same bottle you put in my place? [SPOILER: The bottle of poison had been planted in Alex's place by Rennie]
    Rennie: You always did have a tendency to over-think things. The most important thing about figuring anything out is knowing when to stop. You know, of all the relationships I'll look back on in 50 years' time, I'll always remember this one.

Rennie and "Alex" In County Courthouse

• in the film's major and predictable plot twist, the Detective and Rennie's sister-in-law Sara (who could identify Rennie as her dead brother's former wife) appeared from a door behind Rennie; and then Paul also walked in -- alive and well; Rennie blurted out to Alex that she feared Paul might still be in danger of being poisoned - and confessed: "I want you to know I put the poison in his brandy - you mustn't let him"; Alex responded calmly: "We know. We found it before he did"; Rennie attempted to kiss Paul, but he only let her press her lips to his and then remained passive; knowing she was to be arrested, Rennie exited the side door followed by the Detective, and then by Sara and shortly later by Paul

Last Scene (l to r): Detective, Paul, and Sara Petersen Confronting Rennie

Rennie's Film-Ending Kiss to Paul

• in the film's epilogue, Alex (dressed in a colorful blue Hawaiian dress) ignored and evaded reporters' praise, questions and photos: ("Congratulations, that was a brilliant trap") as she exited the front door of the courthouse - a solitary figure