George Parker "Deep Crimson", a subtitled Mexican film, tells of a man who uses his hair-piece, good looks, and charm to bilk mature women out of their money. When he woos a very large and homely woman longing to be loved, she divests herself of her children, insinuates herself into his life, and goes off scamming with him while pretending be his sister. The backbone of the story is the strange symbiosis which develops between the partner/lover duo as we watch their relationship grow deeper and their scheming more nefarious. A moderately entertaining though schizophrenic film, "Deep Crimson" is too much of a comedy to be taken seriously and too much of a drama to be funny. The result is a marginally engaging film which will play best to those with a taste for black comedies from south of the border. (B)

gridoon Movies have always shown a fascination for these grim, dreary tales with unredeeming, amoral, warped characters at their center (especially if the tales are based on true events), but OUR fascination with such movies is harder to explain and borders on the masochistic. If there is ONE (1) thing to be gained from watching "Deep Crimson", I'm afraid I missed it. Although it's set mostly in the Mexican deserts, the film is rather claustrophobically directed by Arturo Ripstein, who lets several of his scenes drag on too long. (*1/2)

anonreviewer Nice to see something filmed in a country that has rarely been seen in movies, or at least not the parts they show here.Good character development without the high octane drama and flashy camerawork of Hollywood.Themes of the movie include needy people and relationships that trap you.

DCK-SEAT It appears there are several versions of this film. The video which has just been released and which I watched last night, seems to have been edited to shorten it up. I'm sorry to see this because some of the scenes where changed dramatically by the ommissions. I recall the theater version going into more detail on each of the crimes.