But if the trysts between Cora and Frank are neither as high-flown nor as earthy as the book's, they're still ultra-sexy (and more sensual than the rough sex in the 1981 Jack Nicholson-Jessica Lange version). Garnett, who once described Turner as being "as soft as a bunny rabbit," uses this childish, sentimental quality to make Cora's viciousness surprising. Garnett dresses her completely in white, whether she's in a swimsuit or a restaurant uniform -- as if her lust will shine more clearly through virginal costumes. (Garfield's role is more conventional: a hard man-of-the-road with an Achilles' heart.) And Garnett gives the movie the right glare; awash in the Southern California sunshine, this must be one of the brightest of all films noir. As the murderers' schemes sputter and backfire, it also becomes one of the most tawdrily, blackly comic.
-- Michael Sragow
The Postman Always Rings Twice screens Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 27 to March 2, at 7:30 p.m. (with Murder, My Sweet at 5:45 and 9:35 p.m.) at the Stanford Theater, University and Emerson in Palo Alto. Tickets are $6; call 324-3700.
