Tempted (film)

Tempted
Film poster
Directed by	Bill Bennett
Written by	Bill Bennett
Starring	Peter Facinelli Burt Reynolds Saffron Burrows
Cinematography	Tony Clark
Edited by	Henry Dangar
Music by	David Bridie
Production company	Gold Circle Films
Distributed by	TF1 International
Release date	7 September 2001
Running time	95 minutes
Countries	Australia France United States
Language	English

Tempted is a 2001 Australian-French-American thriller film written and directed by Bill Bennett and starring Peter Facinelli, Burt Reynolds and Saffron Burrows.

Plot

Struggling to come to terms with his own mortality, construction contractor Charlie LeBlanc seeks to test the fidelity of his wife, Lilly, a beautiful former model 30 years his junior. With this henchman Dot Collins, Charlie visits one of his construction sites in New Orleans and propositions Jimmy Mulate, a handsome and talented freelance carpenter, to attempt to seduce Lilly. Charlie offers Mulate $10,000 — and $50,000 more if he succeeds in the task, plus an additional $40,000 if he’s able to describe to Charlie in perfect detail the tattoo on Lilly’s body. Though initially hesitant to accept Charlie’s terms, Mulate eventually agrees at the urging of his friend, Ted, who encourages Mulate to use the money to partially or fully pay for his law school education.

Having had his offer accepted, Charlie informs Lilly he is leaving New Orleans for a week-long business trip in Dallas and to expect Mulate to show up at the house in the coming days to repair a broken door. Before leaving, Charlie visits his friend, public investigator Byron Blades, and asks his assistance in surveilling Lilly and Jimmy while he is away. Though he initially declines, Blades relents and installs cameras and microphones throughout the LeBlanc’s mansion while Lilly drives Charlie to the airport.

The next day, Mulate fixes the broken door and attempts to seduce Lilly in her bed. Lilly draws a gun from her dresser and asks Mulate to leave. Mulate later apologizes to Lilly, offering to make amends by inviting her out for the evening. Lilly accepts, and the two go out for drinking and dancing before Lilly hastily departs amid conflicting feelings and after having seen her husband's work associates at a club.

Mulate returns home and walks in on a bloodied Ted, who has just murdered the son of the governor of Louisiana, who is reportedly homosexual. Mulate helps Ted dispose of the body in the Mississippi River.

The next day, Charlie’s secretary, Heather, reveals Charlie’s plot to Lilly. Though initially overwhelmed, she subsequently calls Mulate under the guise that she needs a window repaired. Mulate arrives and the two have sex.

Upon returning from Dallas, Charlie visits Blades, who turns over footage of Lilly and Mulate making love. When confronted, Mulate initially lies to Charlie and Collins, falsely reassuring them of Lilly’s fidelity. Charlie physically assaults Mulate and orders him to help him kill Lilly, threatening to kill Mulate’s father if he does not oblige. Mulate later warns Lilly, who implores Mulate that they need to kill Charlie, but not before the two have sex a second time; while undressing Mulate spots a tattoo that reads “Dakota #7” on Lilly’s inner thigh.

That evening, Charlie and Lilly are accosted, as Charlie is shot twice and killed; Lilly draws a gun from her purse and shoots the masked assailant. When police arrive, the assailant is revaled to be Ted. Blades meets Mulate at a bar and presents him with a recording of Lilly and Mulate in flagrante delicto, during which Lilly is heard proposing that they kill Charlie. Mulate then reaches out to his attorney. Unaware that both he and Lilly share the legal counsel services of David Crabbe, Esq., Mulate and Crabbe review the recording. Mulate asks what Crabbe can do for him with regards to securing immunity that would secure his innocence in exchange for incriminating evidence against Lilly. Crabbe advises Mulate to leave the recording with him in order to see what can be done. Just about the time that Mulate is about to get up and leave the recording with Crabbe, a speakerphone announcement suddenly comes on and advises Crabbe that Lilly, Mrs. Leblanc, is on hold for him. Mulate then strikes Crabbe in the face and flees the meeting room with the recording. Crabbe and other personnel desperately do all they can to take possession of the recording, but Mulate is able to evade Crabbe and the others chasing him and escapes the building with the recording.

Lilly offers Mulate $500,000 for the recording, and the two agree to make the exchange at a swamp shack given to Mulate by his father. Unbeknownst to Lilly, Mulate cooperates with police and has Blades and other members of law enforcement listen in on their conversation at the shack. Blades and the cops move in when they hear the sound of a gunshot apparently fired by Lilly at Mulate; in the ensuing chaos, Collins arrives with a shot gun seeking to kill Lilly and Mulate. Collins is shot dead after a brief shootout with police, and Lilly is arrested after telling Mulate she can’t trust him.

Cast

• Peter Facinelli as Jimmy Mulate
• Saffron Burrows as Lilly LeBlanc
• Burt Reynolds as Charlie LeBlanc

External links

• Tempted at IMDb
• Tempted at Rotten Tomatoes