StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

James Hitchcock Dr Lauren Slaughter is an American academic who comes to London to work for a foreign-affairs think-tank. Her work is prestigious but badly paid, and Lauren decides to supplement her income by moonlighting for an upmarket escort agency, mostly catering for the needs of wealthy foreign businessmen. The set-up is not officially a prostitution ring, but sails fairly close to being one; the idea is that the man pays for the girl's company and it is then up to her whether she goes to bed with him. Lauren proves a success in her new line of work and is able to leave her downmarket flat for a much more exclusive residence in the Half Moon Street of the title. The film explores what happens when she falls in love with one of her clients, Lord Bulbeck, a Government foreign office minister involved in negotiations towards a Middle East peace settlement.This is not really one of Michael Caine's best films. Most of his best performances have come in films where he has played characters who are, in one sense or another, outsiders or rebels against the system- the down-at-heel spy in "The Ipcress File", the Cockney womaniser in "Alfie", the gangster in "Get Carter", the cynical, disillusioned academic in "Educating Rita" or the drunken minor diplomat in "The Honorary Consul". Admittedly, his first starring role was in "Zulu", where he played the upper-class Lieutenant Bromhead, but I have never thought he was the best thing about that film. Here he plays a high-ranking establishment figure, but never seems completely convincing in the role, even though Bulbeck, a working-class trade union official raised to the peerage, is a co-opted member of the British establishment rather than one born to the purple.Sigourney Weaver, however, is better as the heroine. She was, along with the likes of Meryl Streep, Kim Basinger, Jessica Lange and Michelle Pfeiffer, one of the bright new generation of Hollywood actresses who came to prominence in the late seventies and eighties, and gave some great performances in films like "Alien", "Gorillas in the Mist" and "Working Girl". Here she captures the various, often conflicting, aspects of Lauren's personality,- her intelligence, her outgoing nature and a hint of an underlying mercenary ruthlessness, which nevertheless co-exists with a genuine capacity for love.For most of its length the film is a psychological romantic drama, like a romantic comedy without the jokes, and as such it works reasonably well. Towards the end, however, it morphs into a political thriller as Lauren discovers that she has become embroiled in a conspiracy by opponents of the Middle East peace process to assassinate Bulbeck, and as a thriller it does not work well at all, failing to generate any real tension. Despite a promising beginning, this sudden switch from one genre to another means that "Half Moon Street" is one of those films that fall between two stools. 6/10

MARIO GAUCI From the title and what little I knew about its subject-matter, I was expecting a BELLE DE JOUR-meets-JACK THE RIPPER kind of thing but imagine my disappointment when, after an intriguing start, this is forsaken for boring political machinations which ineffectively breach thriller territory towards the end. Actually, it gets sillier by the minute: from having Sigourney Weaver (playing a researcher in Anglo-Arab relations moonlighting as a high-class escort) chatting up an Arab playboy's cinematic banter at a society party with "Am I supposed to say 'Your place or mine?'" to which he retorts, "No, these days you say "Betamax or VHS?'"; to seeing Michael Caine (as a celebrity British diplomat) standing in the rain holding out a bouquet of flowers for Weaver - whom he has fallen for in the course of her extra-curricular activities and with whom he has had a minor falling out! Still, the often-nude Weaver is nevertheless quite good in her role but the film is certainly no BELLE DE JOUR (1967) and it is easy to see why Bob Swaim's career went downhill very quickly after having made the excellent French policier LA BALANCE (1982).

aaronzombie I admit that I only rented this film because it has my favorite actress, Sigourney Weaver, but I was surprised to find out that this is a well acted, well written, and extremely entertaining gem. I expected the film to be pretty mediocre and kinda dull since it involves politics, but Half Moon Street is now one of my favorite films. Plot: (POSSIBLE SPOILER OR 2)Dr. Lauren Slaughter has grown tired of her low paying posistion at a university in London. She recieves a videotape from an anonymous person and watches it immediately. It turns out to be about an Escort Service. At first she thinks it's completely rediculous, but then realizes she doesn't have very many options, so she goes for an interview and gets the job. She is brought into the life of Lord Bulbeck, a British diplomat who is working on a top secret peace settlement with the Middle-East, and the two come to like eachother. What they both don't know is that someone is watching them and that now they're lives are in jeopardy. The Good:An original plot that is pulled off quite well. Great performances from everyone, especially Weaver and Caine who have a great chemistry together. The pace is fast and there's lots of suspense and intrigue. I also love the music score.The Bad:The pace lags at times, but other than that I saw few problems with this movie.Overall rating: ***** out of *****

peacham The premise was good. A young, attractive scientist moonlights as a call girl for money for scientific research and gets caught in an international web of intrigue and danger. However,as good as Sigourney Weaver and Michael Caine are,the film is dull.The supporting cast walks theough their roles and by the time the climax comes Its too late. Actually the only well done scene is the climax.When the counter agent is finally revealed (actor's identity no revealed her for spoiler reasons)He takes Weaver by surprise and one of the most realistic fight scenes in a film occurs...ending with Weaver being rendered helpless by a brutal punch in the stomach. the scene is so real that it seems like it belonged in another film. My advice is to skip this one..A Valiant attempt..but a big miss.