I remember the first time I saw Demi Moore on screen. She was then playing the vindictive dumped woman on "General Hospital" opposite Tristan Rogers. It's a decade later, and she's playing a variation of the same character, much more powerful and using that power for revenge over a relationship that ended years ago when he apparently and it is. Promoted to a vice-presidential position over him, and making a pass at a private meeting that same evening, she goes out of her way to seduce him in the most violent way, and he almost falls prey to her preying, running out as she spits threats at him and he's finished. You can't even get herself to say something to the cleaning lady looking at her in disgust. Moore is a vindictive woman of no scruples (actually a preying mantis determined to remove his head),fascinating to watch, I wouldn't want her as my boss. Douglas, happily married to Caroline Goodall, is horrified when Moore makes accusations against him of sexual harassment. The games are on, and the loser faces total destruction, especially since nobody is going to believe him over her just because she's a woman. Ironically he consults a female attorney who seems to believe him but warns him against the repercussions.

Definitely a film of its time, it's another case of watching Douglas playing a sex machine with a formidable female co-star after being with Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction", Kathleen Turner in "War of the Roses" and Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct". He's excellent, realizing that he's somehow being set up for something bigger than just sexual harassment. Donald Sutherland as the big boss has absolutely no scruples, the head rat that will take everybody down if he's on a sinking ship. Veteran actress Rosemary Forsyth as memorable as an aging executive who the glass door has bypassed over for men for years, and now seems to be a victim of ageism. Moore plays a really strong ruthless female, ready to strike in her spider woman get-up the minute she has the fly in her web, and it's fun to watch her rise to the top as well as predict what will bring on her downfall. With the subplot of a big merger being affected by this, the situation makes Douglas look like the villain to his colleagues who once considered him a friend.

The great use of Seattle locations and the surrounding area (including the ferry that takes Douglas into the city from the nearby Islands) gives it atmosphere, showing the domestic life that Douglas has outside of this wretched corporate world. When his wife find out what's going on, she react more realistically and not the way that Anne Archer did in "Fatal Attraction". When Douglas breakdown over his anger of the situation, it is a very well-written scene and he makes the most of it brilliantly. This is a film with a psychological volcanic eruption nearing Mount St. Helens that's questions human morality, not just male dominance or issues of the patriarchy. Obviously there are good and bad members of both sexes revealed here, and from a moral standpiint, it's presented fairly. It's just a very disturbing topic that is very uncomfortable to watch develop, and a lot of sexual language used that might be difficult for conservatism viewers to listen to.

In a way, this is the opposite of an LMN movie. A man (Douglas) is accused of sexual harassment by his boss (Moore). But since she was the aggressor he threatens to bring suit against her. The film turns the usual clichés upside down. Douglas finds the incident was accidentally taped on an answering machine, and at the mediation everyone hears him telling Moore "No." "Doesn't 'no' mean 'no'"?, Douglas's lawyer (a woman) asks Moore? And later at the meeting we hear Douglas's lawyer come up with, "Sexual harassment is not about sex. It's about power." That's what's known as high-concept film making, but it's not all that simple. There's additional skulduggery involved, an attempt to sabotage Douglas's career as production manager at a computer company in Seattle.

The direction, by Barry Levinson, is up to his usual standard, which is pretty good, though his forte lies in remarking small quotidian moments rather than complicated technical drama. The acting is competent too. There was, however, a dolorous moment at the end when Douglas exposes Moore's trickery in public and when she objects furiously he smirks at her like a third-grade kid who just squealed on a classmate.

If there is a problem it is with the script. The story seems bifurcated. The two schemes to torpedo Douglas are only tenuously connected. Either one -- the sexual harassment business or the sabotaging of Douglas's production line -- would have been movies unto themselves. And for the most part, the dialog is functional and flat, empty of verve, except for one angry outburst by the victimized Douglas who does a neat turn while pointing out that nobody believes him because he is a stereotypical white male. Oh, and one or two other lines. When Douglas is about to sue the company they offer him a "lateral move" to Austin. Donald Sutherland, the boss, gets a nifty observation: "AUSTIN? That's like a duck making a lateral move to 'a l'orange.'"

Worth seeing. Imaginative and picturesque.

A tale of sexual harassment in the office with a twist – this time, the guy is the victim and the woman the pursuer. Yes, it's another thriller that builds on Michael Douglas's typecasting as a victim of powerful women (following FATAL ATTRACTION and BASIC INSTINCT) but this one plays all the right cards. Part workplace drama, part courtroom thriller, and all the time invested with now-dated-but-then-cutting-edge technology (email, virtual reality) I found Disclosure to be never less than intriguing and well made. The Crichton source material helps, of course; I haven't yet seen a Crichton film that hasn't been thought-provoking and entertaining (even the worst, CONGO, isn't entirely without merit, although the book is loads better).

I've been seeing a lot of Douglas in recent months and my opinion of him has steadily improved to the degree that I can't remember him giving a bad performance. He's fine here, providing a key likable anchor for the film to revolve around, and playing opposite him Demi Moore is also a surprise: she oozes sexuality and selfishness in equal measure, proving a powerful enemy at all times. Moore isn't the world's greatest actress but this might well be her best performance in a film.

The courtroom scenes, tense and full of electricity, are undoubtedly the film's highlights and there are supporting actors to relish (Donald Sutherland, Allan Rich and in particular a slimy Dylan Baker). It's not a perfect film, but it is a reminder of the kind of solid, sensual thriller that got made during a sometimes forgotten decade of filmmaking.