It's 19th century Cuba. Luis Antonio Vargas (Antonio Banderas) is surprised that his mail order bride Julia Russell (Angelina Jolie) is that beautiful. She tells him that she deceived him with fake photos and he misled her about his wealth. They get married but later, she disappears with all of his money. Detective Walter Downs (Thomas Jane) arrives to find the real Julia for her sister Emily.

This wants badly to be an erotic thriller. With the beautiful Jolie and sexy Banderas, this should be simple sexual dynamite. The problem is that the plot is slower than molasses and all the explosive eroticism in the world cannot drive this movie forward. Jolie can be extremely hot but she leaves me cold here. This movie doesn't have any excitement and certain no thrills at all.

Here's a "steamy" film - at least early on - about a Cuban (Antonio Bandaras_ who marries an American woman he had only previously written to, only to find out later she (Angelina Jolie) wasn't that woman but a scheming impostor (Billy Bob found this out in real life!)

This is nicely photographed, "lush" being the best adjective to describe it. I didn't find the story very involving, yet it wasn't boring and I could relate to Bandaras' character. Perhaps many men could with the old "love is blind" story.

This is one of those films with poor messages here and there where corrupt people live happily ever after despite their overt sins. There is an "R" version and a "unrated" version of this film, the latter being two minutes longer.

A wealthy, handsome businessman in 1880s Havana advertises in the States for a marriageable woman to sail to his country, become his bride, and bear his children; however, the sultry, lusty young thing who arrives from Delaware curiously bears no resemblance to the photograph she has sent (she's even hotter!),and soon a private detective is snooping about asking questions. Cornell Woolrich's novel "Waltz Into Darkness" would seem an ideal murder-mystery/sexual thriller to absorb a modern-day audience (as a storyteller, Woolrich was far ahead of his time),but writer-director Michael Cristofer doesn't have the teasing personality, nor the sure-handed style, to bring out the juicy twists of this tale. Leads Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie look good together in and out of their clothes, but his forceful, full-blooded acting eclipses hers by a mile. Jolie is not convincing in this period setting; she has little range and, once the camera begins feasting upon her features in Mount Rushmore-like close-ups, her focus visibly wavers (it's a dreadful performance). Told in flashback, we are immediately privy to Jolie's mysteries, with an outcome that defies explanation. Cristofer intermittently tries out different photographic tricks and editing techniques, presumably to pad the running time but in effect showing off his uncertainty as a filmmaker. The dialogue (and Jolie's indifferent delivery of it) is often ludicrously funny, though Banderas deserves credit for at least attempting to take his part of the project seriously. *1/2 from ****