(spoiler) I was shocked to see her character dead about 5 minutes into the film. I thought they would have been partners throughout the picture. WOW. Pakula pulled a Hitchcock.
Yes, the cut from her pleading with Beatty about being in fear for her life to the morgue scene is pretty powerful. I also thought she was going to be a goofy sidekick, like the kind we've seen before. I mean it's Paula Prentiss, Richard Benjamin's wife, and she has done some comedic things before.
But when they showed her at the morgue, that was disturbing. I knew after that scene that this was going to be a different kind of movie. I usually do not care for Beatty, but he did alright with this one.