Legal Implications of Movie Body Heat

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Movie Analysis: “Body Heat” Factual Analysis: Ned Racine is a clumsy lawyer in Florida who begins an affair with Matty Walker, wife of Edmund Walker, a wealthy businessman. Ned and Matty maintain a close secret relationship and Matty discloses her desire to be freed from her husband, but not through a divorce, because it would leave her with only small share of Edmund’s fortune according to the prenuptial agreement. Feeling the need to help her out, Ned suggests the only option is to kill Edmund, because doing so would allow distribution of all his assets according to Edmund’s will (half to Matty and other half to his niece Heather). Ned establishes an alibi by checking into a hotel and murders Edmund at his house. Ned moves Edmund’s dead body to an abandoned building that Edmund was involved with and destroys the building with an incendiary device to make it look like an arson job. After the murder, Ned is contacted by Edmund’s lawyer who tells him about a new will that Ned supposedly drew up on Edmund’s behalf, witnessed by Matty’s friend Mary Ann Simpson. Ned was unaware of this fact; Matty had created the new will in Ned’s name. The new will is corruptly prepared that it is claimed null and void, due to a violation of the rule against perpetuities, resulting in Matty receiving the whole fortune. Having completed her wish, Matty attempts to kill Ned and Mary Ann Simpson who helped her carry out the mission so that the case could be closed. A woman identified as Matty is found dead and Ned ends up going to jail. There he finds out that Matty’s name was actually Mary Ann Simpson and that the body found dead was that of Matty Tyler, name of her high school friend. This movie definitely bears certain legal issues that give reasons to characters acting in certain ways. Throughout this paper, I will address these issues and show their application in plot. Legal

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