Factual error: When Lowenstein meets Racine on the pier he proceeds to commit a series of appalling breaches of legal regulations, if not the law itself. He tells Racine - a man he acknowledges as a suspect in the murder case he is discussing - about the progress the investigating police are making, the nature and direction of their enquiries, the names of people they are questioning, and the vital importance of a missing piece of evidence. There is nothing in Lowenstein's character that would suggest that he is so unbelievably stupid to do something like this! He would be fired for divulging such sensitive information, and he is handing Racine a Get Out Of Jail Free Card - if the judge didn't dismiss the charges against him, he'd be obliged to declare a mistrial.
Body Heat (1981)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Ned and Matty do kill Edmund. Ned attacks Edmund with a board and then takes his body somewhere and destroys the place with a bomb that he had made. Ned then later learns that Matty had the will changed but since it was not valid, all of Edmund's money goes to her and not half to her and the other half to Edmund's sister, Roz. Ned also discovers that Edmund's glasses that he always wears were not at the crime scene and that someone was trying to call Ned the night of the murder which makes Ned a suspect. When Ned asks Matty about the glasses, she says that the maid must have took them and she wants money if she is to return them. Matty later says to Ned that the maid stopped by Matty's place to drop off the glasses, but the man who helped Ned make the bomb tells Ned that he saw Matty and helped her make a bomb. When Ned sees Matty, he forces Matty to go into the boathouse where the glasses supposedly are and where Ned discovers a bomb that Matty may have placed. As Matty enters the boathouse, it explodes. Ned is arrested and put in jail for the 'murder' of Matty and for possibly Edmund's murder. That night, Ned wakes up and starts to realise that Matty is somehow still alive. But everyone denies it because the dental records show up as Matty's. But after receiving a yearbook, Ned discovers that Matty's real name is Mary Ann Simpson, which was the name of the girl who looked a lot like Matty shown earlier in the movie. Also that Matty is the name of the girl posing as Mary Ann Simpson. Which means that it was the girl posing as Mary Ann Simpson and not Matty (Turner) whose body was burned to death. The movie ends with Matty/Mary Ann Simpson (Turner) on a beach in Kauai.
Big Evil
Ned: You can stand here with me if you want but you'll have to agree not to talk about the heat.
Matty: I'm a married woman.
Ned: Meaning what?
Matty: Meaning I'm not looking for company.
Ned: Then you should have said I'm a happily married woman.
Trivia: Teddy Lewis tells Ned that "Matty" had him show her how to rig up a explosive with a delay to a door. So in theory Matty could have opened the door and escaped unscathed.
Question: Matty introduces her friend as Mary Ann, but in the year book, the friend is actually Matty Tyler, and she is actually Mary Ann. Were both girls in on the scam? (00:31:22)
Answer: It appears that the real Matty Tyler was not initially in on the plan. It's confusing, and there're many plot holes, but it seems the fake "Matty" (Kathleen Turner) intended for the real Matty to eventually discover that her identity was being used (by Turner). The real Matty was then apparently blackmailing fake Matty to keep quiet. It appears that fake Matty intended to lure and then murder the real Matty, framing Ned Racine for her murder, as well as Edmund's. The real Matty's body was identified as being Edmond's wife through her dental records. Fake Matty probably intended for Ned to be killed in the explosion.
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Answer: I noticed the problem of the introduction, also. It seemed like a major plot hole to me. There wasn't any material in the movie to support blackmail, etc by the real Matty. I hadn't thought of her possibly being in on the scam. If not, why wouldn't the real Matty have immediately blanched when hearing herself be introduced with the wrong name? So far, I agree with the OP's suggestion.
The real Maddy was at the house when Ned arrived. Presumably, she had already discovered what "Fake Maddy" was up to. It looked like Fake Maddy (Turner) gave the real Maddy a check, presumably a payoff to keep quiet. The real Maddy may or may not have known exactly what Fake Maddy was planning, but went along with being introduced as "Mary Ann." Also, the movie deliberately leaves details vague because it is a big plot twist at the end when Ned, and the audience, learns that Fake Maddy is really Mary Ann.
raywest ★