"IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU WATCH THE FILM AGAIN THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT HE'S DOING"
![https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/cainandmirror65.jpg](https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/cainandmirror65.jpg)
Nick Bartlett at /Film today posted "The 23 Best Michael Caine Movies Ranked." While we're pretty sure that Brian De Palma's Dressed To Kill would be a top five title for sure, Bartlett ranks it at number 15:
"Dressed to Kill," Brian De Palma's homage to "Psycho," casts Michael Caine in the largely thankless role of the psychiatrist whose patient is murdered and then gets drawn into the case when suspicion falls on another of his patients.This is a tricky one. On first viewing, Caine's performance in "Dressed To Kill" seems a little odd and a bit wooden. It's only once you watch the film again that you understand what he's doing. He's essentially playing a role within a role, putting on a veneer of respectability that covers a sinister secret. De Palma makes excellent use of mirrors throughout, hinting at Caine's fractured psyche. However, Caine never tips his hand. It's a performance that takes on more and more layers once you know the plot, and it's a credit to Caine that the reveal is never laughable. Be warned though, the film was released in 1980, and some of the plot twists are more than a little problematic today.
Previously:
Nick Bartlett at /Film picks his favorite De Palma set pieces
Nick Bartlett again, this time ranking his top 14 Brian De Palma films