If the sight of Sharon Stone and William Baldwin gyrating their way through a series of long and drawn-out sex scenes is appealing, then I'd recommend SLIVER, one in a wave of erotic thrillers that populated the mid-1990s in the wake of BASIC INSTINCT. For movie fans in general, though, SLIVER is a bit of a non-starter.

The film's biggest flaw is an overly familiar script, which has an interesting premise involving voyeurism but does little with it (other than inviting the viewer to participate, a theme which has been done to death these days anyway). Sharon Stone moves into a high-tech apartment block where people are being murdered, and we're supposed to care about what happens next.

There are flashes of interest and inspiration throughout, usually involving the supporting cast. Watching Tom Berenger chewing dialogue is always a delight, and ROME's Polly Walker shows up too, although sadly not for very long. The talents of CCH Pounder and Martin Landau also end up wasted in favour of dull, slightly wooden turns from Stone (who displays none of the charm and allure she essayed in BASIC INSTINCT) and a sweaty, unpleasant Baldwin.

The thriller aspects are unevenly handled, and Aussie director Philip Noyce (who directed DEAD CALM, one of my favourite thrillers) drops the ball more than once, failing to elicit suspense from scenarios which should be tense and atmospheric. SLIVER isn't all bad; the most undemanding of movie fans might even enjoy it, but I'm afraid I've been here way too many times to see anything even remotely interesting.

An interesting if convoluted piece of pulp sleaze deals with a bunch of pretentious, unlikeable New Yorkers living in an exclusive mid Manhattan skyscraper who seem to get their jollies spying on their neighbors in all sorts of compromising situations but unaware that a building security system is doing just that to everyone who lives there. Not one of them seems to have any kind of moral code, even seemingly vulnerable new tenant Sharon Stone who has her own telescope from which she can see the people directly across from her in another building having carnal relations, something she gets her thrills off at a cocktail party she hosts where other tenants (male and female) practically salivates over. She moves into the building after a lookalike tenant is murdered by being pushed over the balcony which is a presumed accident or suicide by other tenants, the police and the press. It's all very overtly sexual where there is absolutely no discretion in the film hiding its perversion.

An impressive cast of veteran actors (many of them stage veterans or B film actors from the 40's and well known character players add a phony bit of class to the film which focuses on the Ice Princess mentality of Sharon Stine and the studlly William Baldwin, and as far as acting goes, Stone is a convincing if annoying moaner. She's like a reluctant adult film star who secretly enjoys it so any lady like behavior she exudes is quickly tarnished every time she has to appear in the buff or make love. At 100 minutes with nearly half an hour of soft porn like scenes, this becomes trash with a classy facade, but compost with glitter is still compost.

In the supporting cast are 40's B leading lady Nina Foch who is surrounded by the breaking of every commandment. A female coworker of Stone's openly talks about her sexual lascivious desires in the halls of the office, something that I am sure was not acceptable in 1993 from either gender. The men are just as bad so at least you have equal opportunity perversion going on. As far as the plot is concerned, the mystery of why tenants are dying isn't really intriguing even if the opening scene is quite shocking. Good Manhattan location footage does help, but then again, it has helped in hundreds, no, thousands of other bad films. The intense pacing is made ridiculously over the top with the pounding music and sound recording. If middle America viewed this back in 1993, that explains why New York remains known as sin city, but the lack of realism for how it presents my city, and Stone comes off as tainted as the water flowing down the East River.

There is quite the social commetary here, packed in an erotic thriller. Basic Instinct and this made Sharon Stone a if not the sex symbol of the 90s. And here her character is different than the one from Basic Instinct, which is a nice touch overall (no pun intended).

But the movie and the story want too much, while not or rather going the whole way. The mystery is there, the themes and the critique is there, but I'm certain that many will hate the ending .... the build up is nice though